ZURICH — The Zurich Public Prosecutors' Office concluded its investigation into the death of 18-year-old cyclist Muriel Furrer, finding no evidence of criminal conduct or negligence on the part of the race organizer. Furrer died after crashing during the junior road race at the 2024 Road World Championships in Zurich and lying undiscovered for 82 minutes.

According to the prosecutors' office, the accident occurred at approximately 11:04 a.m. when Furrer left the road in wet conditions on the 73.5-kilometer course, close to where she grew up, and crashed into a wooded area. The location was out of sight of race marshals, and the injured cyclist was not discovered until 12:26 p.m. because she lay hidden in the undergrowth and her disappearance was not automatically reported.

Neither live tracking of riders nor radio communication was allowed in the World Championships. The race was overseen by a local organizing committee in conjunction with the Union Cycliste Internationale.

The prosecutors' office said the first emergency responders arrived at the scene minutes after Furrer was found and immediately began providing initial medical care. The initial medical care was followed by the rescue of the seriously injured cyclist from the undergrowth and preparations for her transport to the hospital. Furrer was airlifted to University Hospital Zurich but died of a head injury.

The investigation found no evidence of any criminally relevant breaches of duty in connection with either the rescue operation or the subsequent medical care at University Hospital Zurich.

In the aftermath of Furrer's death, the UCI introduced GPS trackers for the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda so the whereabouts of riders were known at all times. The Cyclists' Union, known as the CPA, has stated that GPS tracking should have been introduced years earlier. "It's such an easy solution," CPA president Adam Hansen said.

The UCI also retired Furrer's race number, 84, from women's junior road races last year.