20-year-old Italian rider Andrea Raccagni Noviero has made an emotional ‘apology’ to Muriel Furrer and her household after her tragic demise on the World Championships in Zurich, calling out to his fellow riders to talk out for higher security.
Raccagni Noviero revealed he’ll journey for the Soudal-QuickStep WorldTour group on Monday after two spectacular seasons within the Belgian growth group. He’s the present under-23 Italian time trial champion and completed thirteenth within the under-23 time trial in Zurich.
He posted his emotional message on Instagram per week after Furrer died. Furrer suffered a important head damage when she crashed within the junior ladies’s highway race on September 26.
The 18-year-old’s demise was introduced the day after with native authorities and the UCI preferring to not reveal particulars of the crash as Swiss police perform their investigation.
Native media reported that Swiss Air-Rescue’s first helicopter mission within the Zurich space on Thursday departed at 12:52 pm, greater than an hour after the end of the junior ladies’s highway race. It’s believed – although it has not been confirmed – that Furrer crashed close to Küsnacht with greater than 30km left to race. There may be to date no reason why Furrer was not discovered on the time of the crash.
Riders who publicly assist Raccagni Noviero’s submit on Instagram included Australia’s Luke Plapp, Letizia Borghesi, Ariann Fidanza, Rachel Neylan and the Soudal-QuickStep group.
The information of Furrer’s demise shocked riders and lots of others within the sport. Raccagni Noviero bravely spoke out per week after her demise.
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“Perhaps this submit won’t be useful as I wish to, however at the least it would give me the likelihood to apologise to Muriel and her household,” he wrote.
“As a result of as I mentioned, that is additionally my fault and the fault of all the opposite riders who’ve by no means spoken in entrance of clear issues of safety.
“It is also our fault. If we’re at this level now, it is as a result of we’re not even attempting to vary issues.”
Raccagni Noviero spoke concerning the dangers he took and the hazard he confronted in the course of the descent to Lake Zurich in the course of the World Championship time trial.
“Each athlete that has rode the time trial like I did, risked their lives going downhill, which made ZERO sense to be there, and everybody knew it,” he wrote.
“We’re enjoying a sport that is already very harmful and the precise second you determine to enter a race, you realize what dangers you will take, however this, that is one thing extra. It simply signifies that the folks making selections don’t care about our security in any respect and WE have zero respect for our lives.
“We’re simply accepting it, however is that this what we would like? Definitely not Muriel’s household, to whom I ship my deepest condolences, and on the identical time I apologise, as a result of I had the chance to talk and I did not do it sooner.
“And I additionally wish to apologise to you Muriel, as a result of like some other 18-year-old particular person, you deserved to reside your life to the fullest and never lose it like that, and I really feel responsible for that. I want each athlete who has been via too harmful conditions and has by no means mentioned it out loud to affix me in apologising to them.
“We have to do one thing to vary all this, and it is as much as us as a result of we have seen currently that one thing isn’t working correctly.
“So my want is that as many guys as doable (or anybody within the biking world) would repost this so we are able to try to be as loud as doable to make the game we love a bit of safer. Some concepts will come however we have now to start out someplace.”
