Investigators: damaged rear tire cause of Drege’s fatal crash

The Norwegian André Drege (25) died on the descent from the Großglockner. A damaged rear tire triggered the accident. The public prosecutor’s office in Klagenfurt has closed its investigations.

It was a black day for cycling: On July 6, the Norwegian cyclist André Drege died at the “Tour of Austria”. The 25-year-old fell badly on the descent from the Großglockner before the Guttal roundabout to the Franz-Josefs-Höhe and Heiligenblut junction. Drege was found unconscious by road users lying next to the road. They and alerted emergency services tried to resuscitate the Norwegian. Unfortunately in vain. The athlete died at the scene of the accident.

Immediately after the accident, the Klagenfurt public prosecutor’s office (StA) began its investigations. It had to be clarified whether a technical defect or a driving error had triggered the crash. Now the results are available: Experts have determined that the cause of the accident was damage to the rear tire due to driving on a hard object, according to StA spokesman Markus Kitz.

During the approximately 20-second continuation to the accident point, the entire air pressure of the tire escaped, causing the tire to lose its grip on the rim and Drege could no longer control his wheel and the driving lines. “There was a rollover over the front wheel and the handlebars,” says Kitz. Indications of third-party negligence could not be found either by the cycling expert or by the forensic pathologist.

The proceedings against unknown perpetrators were therefore discontinued.

I wonder what’s safer – to fall with your bike clipped to you or without