When Pello Bilbao received his winner’s medal on the main stage at Issoire, he immediately pointed his left index finger to the sky. “It was a victory for Gino,” said the Spaniard, fighting back tears, and dedicated his first stage success in the Tour de France to his friend Gino Mäder, who died in an accident.
Bilbao had prevailed on the 10th stage in the final sprint of a breakaway ahead of Georg Zimmermann from Augsburg. The Bahrain-Victorious professional then pointed to an engraving on his helmet: “#rideforgino” was written there.
His teammate Mäder fell into a ravine at the Tour de Suisse last month and died from his serious injuries.
Bilbao was close friends with Mäder
Mäder was not just a teammate for Bilbao, both were close friends. The Swiss girl had even adopted a stray dog from the Basque city of Bilbao and named him Pello.
“It’s been hard preparing for the Tour thinking about him over the last two weeks,” admitted Bilbao. The first victory in the Tour of France in 13 years as a professional was “a very special moment for me,” he said. In the overall standings, the 33-year-old even moved up to fifth place.
In memory of Mäder, Bilbao had committed before the start of the tour to donate one euro for environmental protection for every driver he leaves behind on a stage. That’s what his buddy had done. In the meantime, over 1300 euros have already been collected. Ascending trend.