Olympic mountain bike champion Jolanda Neff and Marlen Reusser, the reigning Olympic time trial silver medalist, withdrew from the Paris Games on Monday in a double blow to the hopes of the Swiss cycling team.
The Swiss Cycling Federation announced the two riders have been dealing with illnesses and will not compete at the Summer Games, which begin with the opening ceremony on July 26. Neff has been having breathing issues for several years while Reusser has been recovering from an illness but won’t be ready to compete in Paris.
Olympic silver medalist Sina Frei will take Neff’s spot alongside Alessandra Keller, the world’s No. 1-ranked rider, in the mountain bike competition at Elancourt Hill. Elena Hartmann will replace Reusser in the time trial and road race.
Neff, who led a historic Swiss sweep of the mountain bike podium at the Tokyo Olympics, underwent a battery of tests in early June as doctors tried to formulate a plan for her recovery. But while the team said the 31-year-old rider has shown improvements, they “are not sufficient to compete in Paris in two weeks.”
Neff won the world championship in 2017 and is a three-time World Cup overall winner.
The Swiss team, which is ranked No. 1 in the world, is still expected to be formidable in the mountain bike race. Keller has been a consistent podium finisher on the World Cup circuit and Frei was third at the European championships.
Reusser said in a social media post that she had COVID-19 in February, then fell during the Tour of Flanders and suffered fractures to her face and teeth. She underwent surgery and then had “several viral infections” and still has not fully recovered.
Her pro team, SD Worx-Protime, said Reusser had a tooth extracted and was on antibiotics in the hopes of competing in Paris.
“I saw a lot of doctors, had a lot of tests and still always had the hope that I would be fit in time for Paris,” she said. “A significant part of my treatment now consists of rest, so I have to plan and hope for the longer term and do everything I can to ensure that I can compete in top form at the world championships in Zurich.”
Hartmann, who is coming off a third consecutive Swiss time trial title in June, was sixth in the opening time trial at the Giro d’Italia Women last week. She will compete in the race against the clock on July 27 along with the road race, where she is a part of a Swiss team that includes Elise Chabbey, Noemi Rüegg and Linda Zanetti.
