‘With all my heart, I raced for her’ – Anja Grossmann honours late Muriel Furrer with World Championships bronze medal

Taking a bronze medal in a World Championships is an emotional moment for any young rider, but that was particularly the case for Switzerland’s Anja Grossman after finishing third in the 2025 junior road race – and stepping onto the podium a year on from the death of her teammate Muriel Furrer during the same event.

Furrer, a talented Swiss junior, died in tragic circumstances during the junior road race at the World Championships in Zurich in 2024, crashing off the course and not being found for some time.

Grossmann also dedicated her European cyclocross title last year to Furrer.

On Friday, the UCI announced that Furrer’s number 84 would be retired from the junior women’s road race, and her death also spurred action from the governing body to introduce GPS trackers in a bid to avoid any similar incidents in the future.

“I think we can all learn from Muriel, she was just such a calm girl and she always had clear goals in her mind and she always believed so much,” Grossmann said.

“That was what made her. It’s important to remember her for our whole lives, and it’s important to honour her in races like the UCI did with her number. We will never forget her and she’s always in my heart.”

Grossmann paid further tribute to the wider Swiss Cycling team, who have now taken four medals at this World Championships, with Marlen Reusser’s time trial win, Jan Huber’s silver in the men’s under-23 road race, and a team bronze in the mixed relay TTT.

“I think we have the best team behind us,” she said. “The coaches, the nutritionist, the chef, everyone does everything so we can win medals and we can perform at our best.

“It’s by having the best people behind us that makes us so fast. They help us from when we’re little kids until now and they support us on every step. Even when we’re not winning medals, they support us to try to do everything we can.”

“We won so many medals here this year, just thank you to them. We are all really grateful for all the staff behind us.”

Amongst all the mixed emotions for Grossmann, there was also a hint of disappointment, but the 16-year-old offered wisdom beyond her age as she reflected on her achievement and her future.

“To every young rider, [I would say] just to believe in yourself and to surround yourself with people that support you at hard times and at good times,” she said.

“Mistakes can happen, and it’s okay, but you have to learn from them,” she continued.

“I had a dream today, but I’ve won the bronze medal, and that’s super and I’m happy about that. What makes a real champion is to learn from those mistakes and to grow and learn from every race. Today I will learn my lessons and I will get stronger from them.”

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