The cycling community is mourning the tragic death of 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer after she died Friday from a serious head injury following a crash at the Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich just a day earlier.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) released a statement confirming the news of Furrer’s passing.

A picture of cyclist Muriel Furrer from Switzerland, who died after a crash Thursday, is projected during a minute of silence prior to the medal ceremony of the Men Under 23 Road Race of the Cycling and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.  (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

“It is with great sadness that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich (Switzerland) today learned the tragic news of the death of young Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer,” the statement began. 

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“With the passing of Muriel Furrer, the international cycling community loses a rider with a bright future ahead of her.”

According to the UCI, Furrer “fell heavily” during Thursday’s race, and sustained a “serious head injury.” She was flown out by helicopter to a hospital in critical condition before passing at Zurich University Hospital the following day. 

Muriel Furrer from Switzerland, in action during the UCI Cross Country Junior Women, XCO, Mountain Bike World Championship, Aug. 30, 2024, in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.  (Maxime Schmid/Keystone via AP, File)

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“The UCI and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships offer their sincere condolences to Muriel Furrer’s family, friends and her Federation Swiss Cycling.”

Details of the crash were not immediately known. 

Riders are distanced by the pack in pouring rain during the Men’s Junior Road Race of the Cycling and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.  (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

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Furrer was competing in the junior women’s event on rain-slicked roads when she crashed in a forest area south of Zurich. Police and the public prosecutor’s office are investigating the crash. 

Furrer’s death marks the second Swiss cyclist to have died after crashing in the past two seasons. Gino Mäder, 26, died in June 2023 after crashing down a ravine at the Tour de Suisse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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