Olympic mountain bike champion Jolanda Naef and reigning Olympic time trial silver medallist Marlen Reuther withdrew from the Paris Games on Monday, dealing a double blow to the hopes of the Swiss cycling team.
The Swiss Cycling Federation said both riders are battling illnesses and will not take part in the Summer Olympics, which begin with the opening ceremony on July 26. Naef has had respiratory problems for several years, while Reusser is recovering from an illness but will not be able to compete in Paris.
Olympic silver medallist Sina Frei will take Naef's place in the mountain bike event on the Elancourt hills, along with world number one ranked rider Alessandra Keller, while Elena Hartmann will take Reusser's place in the time trial and road race.
Naef, who led Switzerland to a historic sweep of the mountain biking podium at the Tokyo Olympics, underwent a series of tests in early June as doctors drew up a recovery plan, but his team said the 31-year-old's condition was improving but “not yet sufficient to compete in Paris in two weeks' time”.
Naef won the 2017 World Championships and is a three-time overall World Cup champion.
The world number one ranked Swiss team also looks set to be a formidable force in mountain bike racing, with Keller a regular podium finisher on the World Cup circuit and Frei coming in third at the European Championships.
Reusser said in a social media post that he had contracted COVID-19 in February and had fractured his face and teeth in a fall during the Tour of Flanders. After undergoing surgery, he suffered “several bouts of the virus” and is still not fully recovered.
Switzerland's Marlene Reusser competes in the women's individual cycling time trial at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Oyama, Japan, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. The withdrawal of Olympic mountain bike champion Jolanda Naef and reigning Olympic time trial silver medalist Marlene Reusser from the Paris Games has doubly dashed the hopes of the Swiss cycling team. The Swiss Cycling Federation announced Monday, July 15, 2024 that both athletes will not compete in the Summer Olympics, which start in just over a week. Photo by AP/Tim de Walle
Her professional team, SD Werks Protime, said Reuther had a tooth extracted and was taking antibiotics in preparation for the Paris event.
“I saw a lot of doctors and had a lot of tests, but I always had hope that I would be recovered in time for Paris,” she said. “A big part of my treatment is rest, so I have to plan long term, stay hopeful and do everything I can to be in top condition to compete at the World Championships in Zurich.”
Hartmann, who won her third consecutive Swiss time trial in June, placed sixth in the opening women's time trial of the Giro d'Italia last week. She will compete in the timed race along with the road race on July 27 as part of a Swiss team that also includes Elise Chabay, Noémie Ruegg and Linda Zanetti.
