Pro Log: Cycling mourns André Drege, Marta Cavalli hit by driver, Michael Mørkøv to retire

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Pro Log: Cycling mourns André Drege, Marta Cavalli hit by driver, Michael Mørkøv to retire

Welcome to another edition of Pro Log. The Tour de France enters its second week with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) wearing the maillot jaune, 33 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) after what some have described as the greatest first week of action in the race’s history.

The Giro d’Italia Women has also kicked off, with Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) wearing the first maglia rosa after her individual time-trial victory on Stage 1. She leads the general classification by 13 seconds over Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) after Niamh Fisher-Black’s breakthrough win on Stage 3’s summit finish.

André Drege dies at the Tour of Austria

Cycling is in mourning following the news of Norwegian up-and-comer André Drege’s death at the Tour of Austria on 6th July. The Coop-Repsol rider crashed on the descent of Austria’s highest mountain, the Grossglockner, on Stage 4 of the race and died from his injuries. He was 25 years old.

In a statement posted on social media, Coop-Repsol said, ‘We are devastated by the tragic passing of André Drege. Our thoughts and prayers are with André’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. André’s family has requested privacy as they mourn their loss, and we kindly ask that their wishes are respected.’

The following and final stage of the Tour of Austria was cancelled and replaced with a memorial ride for the Norwegian rider and some riders at the Tour de France wore black armbands the next day.

It comes just over a year after Gino Mäder died on a descent at the Tour of Suisse.

Marta Cavalli hit by driver on training ride

On Friday, FDJ-Suez announced the news that Marta Cavalli had been hit by a car while training near her home in Italy. Fortunately, after 24 hours of medical observation, she has avoided serious injury with no fractures reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Cavalli has not had the best of fortunes with injuries in recent years. She was hit from behind by a rider on Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes in 2022 in a horrendous crash that resulted in concussion and many months recovering before being able to race again. Cavalli’s 2023 was also affected by the after-effects, taking more time off the bike before Strade Bianche to prioritise her recovery.

Michael Mørkøv to retire

Legendary leadout man Michael Mørkøv will retire at the end of the 2024 season. The 39-year-old Dane will end his career with the Astana Qazaqstan team after being part of the squad that helped Mark Cavendish to his record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage victory.

Mørkøv not only established himself as the greatest leadout man across other teams such as Saxo-Bank, Katusha and QuickStep, but also won the Danish Road Race Championships in 2013, 2018 and 2019. He excelled on the track too, becoming an Olympic Champion in the Madison with Lasse Norman Hansen in 2021 and World Champion in the event in 2009, 2020 and 2021.

In the video announcing his retirement, he said, ‘I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved as a track cyclist, as a road cyclist. Being a part of the biggest races in the world, being a part of some of the biggest teams as well, being surrounded with great teammates and I’ve made a lot of friendships during the years.

‘I’m very proud of what I got out of my talent, to be honest. I was never the most talented rider as a young rider but I really managed to work hard and I feel I achieved all I could.’

See you next week.

The post Pro Log: Cycling mourns André Drege, Marta Cavalli hit by driver, Michael Mørkøv to retire appeared first on Cyclist.