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Fritz Ryser

Fritz Ryser
Personal information
Born(1873-05-26)26 May 1873
Huttwil, Switzerland
Died13 February 1916(1916-02-13) (aged 42)
Berlin, Germany
Sport
SportCycling
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Motor-paced World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1901 Berlin Professionals
Gold medal – first place 1908 Berlin Professionals

Fritz Ryser (26 May 1873 – 13 February 1916) was a Swiss cyclist. He won the UCI Motor-paced World Championships in 1908 and finished in third place in 1901.[1][2]

Ryser started with road racing and won a national title in 1899.[3] The same year he turned professional and won a national title in motor-paced racing. Although in 1908 he became the first Swiss cyclist to win a world title in this discipline, his career was marred with bad luck. Eight days after the race, his pacer Joseph Black died in a race in Düsseldorf. Next year Ryser himself got into a serious accident in Berlin – his pacer Emil Borchardt while trying to avoid a fallen rider hit the stands; his motorcycle exploded killing nine people. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Ryser was detained for alleged espionage while racing in Poland,[4] whereas his pacemaker was deported to Siberia.[5] Ryser died from a stroke in Berlin, aged 42.

References

  1. ^ Fritz Ryser. radsportseiten.net
  2. ^ Track Cycling World Championships 2012 to 1893. bikecult.com
  3. ^ "National Championship, Road, Elite, Switzerland (Men)". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  4. ^ Velo Gotha, Brüssel 1984, p. 461
  5. ^ Sepp Renggli. Schweizer Radsport. Gestern, heute, morgen, Zurich 1998, p. 110. ISBN 3-908487-36-6