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The final stage of the Tour of Austria on Sunday has been replaced with a memorial ride following the death of Norwegian cyclist Andre Drege.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 25-year-old, who had been with Norwegian team Coop\u2013Repsol since 2021, was fatally injured in Saturday’s crash on the descent of the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain.<\/p>\n
Following discussions between the organisers, teams and Drege’s family, stage five from Kufstein to Kuhtai was cancelled.<\/p>\n
A moment of silence in honour of Drege will precede a “neutralised” ride in his memory.<\/p>\n
There will also be a moment of remembrance before stage nine of the Tour de France in Troyes.<\/p>\n
“Together with the sporting directors and riders of the teams, we have decided not to ride today’s stage and instead to hold a neutralised condolence ride in memory of Andre Drege,” said Tour of Austria director Thomas Pupp.<\/p>\n
“The memorial ride was the express wish of Andre’s father, his team-mates and his entire team. It gives the entire cycling family the opportunity to come to terms with what happened and to honour Andre Drege’s memory.”<\/p>\n
Coop-Repsol said they are “devastated” by Drege’s death and asked that his family’s request for privacy be respected.<\/p>\n
Drege was expected to move up to World Tour level with the Jayco-AlUla team in 2025.<\/p>\n
Diego Ulissi, riding for UAE Team Emirates, led the race by six seconds after stage four on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Last June Swiss cyclist Gino Mader died<\/a> at the age of 26 after crashing on stage five of the Tour de Suisse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n