Five weeks before the Olympic mountain bike race, two of the four Swiss participants are looking for form. Jolanda Neff will not be competing at the home World Cup in Crans-Montana this weekend.
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- Breathing problems keep limiting Jolanda Neff. After weeks of examinations, she has a diagnosis: EILO (Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction), an exercise-induced narrowing of the larynx.
- Neff still believes she will be in good health to take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
- Aware of the diagnosis and the outpatient treatment, which focuses primarily on breathing technique during exertion, she said before setting off on her racing bike: "I'm doing very well. The problem doesn't limit me much." There are no question marks for Paris.
It is the second-to-last World Cup race before the Olympic Games, the main rehearsal for the 2025 World Championships and the most important home race of the year for Swiss mountain bikers. After heavy rainfall in the region, the short tracks are on the program in Crans-Montana on Saturday, followed by the main races on Sunday.
Jolanda Neff is also an ambassador for next year's World Championships in Valais. However, the Olympic champion from eastern Switzerland will be missing this weekend. Her breathing problems are currently restricting her too much and there is too little time for outpatient therapy before the Olympic Games, for which Neff has been selected for the third time after Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
A diagnosis at last
The problems have been with Neff for some time. They are also the reason why the three-time overall World Cup winner has to take things slower in races than she used to. However, the 31-year-old has only recently been diagnosed thanks to weeks of examinations: she suffers from EILO (Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction), an exercise-induced narrowing of the larynx. This can lead to sudden acute breathing problems during very strenuous physical exertion.
This sounds drastic for an endurance athlete, but according to Neff it is only temporary. Ten years ago, she had already experienced races in which she experienced breathing problems during phases of increased exertion. Neff explains that the constriction usually resolved itself as the race progressed.
This variability also explains the large fluctuations. In the races in Brazil, Neff was classified in 5th and 6th place at the start of the World Cup season. In Nove Mesto, suddenly nothing worked anymore; she was even lapped in 46th place.
No question mark for Paris - or is there?
Neff last took part in the women's Tour de Suisse on a racing bike. She also tested the breathing therapy approaches she is using to get to grips with her problems. She had "made some good progress, but I can't exert myself yet", she said after the "four tough days on the road" and explained her decision not to compete in Crans-Montana.
What does this mean for the Olympic Games? Neff still believes she will be able to take part in good health. In the knowledge of the diagnosis and the outpatient therapy, which mainly focuses on breathing technique during exertion, she said before taking to her racing bike: "I'm doing very well. The problem doesn't limit me much." Neff emphasized that she can now literally take a deep breath and that there are no question marks for Paris.
Sina Frei, whose season is also not running smoothly and has been affected by a broken bone in her hand, would be the replacement rider in Paris should Neff have to declare a forfeit three years after her triumph at the Summer Games in Tokyo.
Flückiger still looking for form
In the men's race, Filippo Colombo can hardly hope to move up in Paris after his bitter non-selection. Although Mathias Flückiger has also struggled in recent weeks. The 35-year-old from Bern, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo in 2021 and subsequently overall World Cup winner and World Championship silver medallist, was thrown off track almost two years ago during his strongest phase of his career by an alleged positive doping test and slowed down by health problems on his way back to the top of the world rankings.
Flückiger, who was acquitted in May due to procedural errors, has been ill twice in recent months, once in preparation and again after the start of the World Cup. The result has been a mixed season so far, in which he just about secured his Olympic ticket with 6th place in Nove Mesto. After finishing 12th in Val di Sole, Flückiger said at the beginning of the week: "That's not what I was hoping for. I'm still looking for my top form."
Flückiger was confident that he could still get into the flow. If Neff and he don't get their act together in time, the Swiss mountain bikers, who are accustomed to success, will only be competing with two hotshots in Paris at the end of July. Nino Schurter celebrated his 36th World Cup victory last weekend in Val di Sole at the age of 38, while Alessandra Keller is second in the overall World Cup.
