An emotional George Bennett has opened up following the death of Swiss rider Gino Mader.
Mader died after crashing and falling down a ravine on stage five of the Tour de Switzerland on Friday. He was 26.
The accident is a tragedy Kiwi Bennett hopes can be prevented in the future.
When the peloton rode as a mark of respect for Mader on Saturday, emotions ran high.
Four days later, it's still very raw for Bennett.
"It's obviously a tough time for everyone," Bennett told Newshub. "It's obviously just emotional.
"Like, shit has happened, and it wears very heavy on you."
Bennett himself had already pulled out of the tour following injury after a crash.
He now wants Mader's death to spark conversations around the safety of cyclists and importance of more stringent course inspections.
"It's [about] identifying risks, and identifying 'what do we need on this corner?' and creating some sort of accountability for it."
Mader's death is the first in 12 years at the elite level.
While the dangers are obvious in a sport that involves such high speeds with such little protection, Bennett hopes the new president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés Adam Hansen will bring change.
"Some of the crazy stuff that we do race on, is just not acceptable," he added.
Battered and bruised, Bennett is now in doubt for the Tour de France in just under two weeks time.
"I think it's going to be pretty hard, bordering [on] very hard from here to make it back," he concluded.
Making it back to a sport that he accepts needs to change.
