The 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer has died following a crash at the World Championship in Zurich, the sport's governing body UCI and event organizers said on Friday.

"It is with great sadness that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Organizing Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zürich (Switzerland) today learned the tragic news of the death of young Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer," the UCI posted on its website.

The 18-year-old rider fell heavily on Thursday during the women's junior road race and suffered a serious head injury, before being airlifted to the Zurich University Hospital, where she died on Friday.

Crash circumstances still unclear

The exact cause of the crash is still unclear while investigations are ongoing.

The World Championships continued on Friday with the under-23 men's race.

jsi/msh (dpa, SID, Reuters)