The winner of the mountain bike gold medal in Tokyo 2020, Jolanda Neff, has announced that she will not take to the Olympic start line at Paris 2024. The Swiss star has struggled all season at the UCI Cross-country World Cups even opting to miss rounds to compete at the Tour de Suisse on the road.
The 31 year-old has sited a respiratory issue that involves her vocal chords sticking together which impairs air getting to her lungs properly. She took to social media to state that she was relieved that no medication or treatment was required and that it was instead more about learning to adjust her breathing technique around it.
So that’s what I‘ve been doing on a daily basis over the last weeks. We wanted to leave as much time as possible. Only yesterday I raced my mountain bike for the first time since May. My breathing was a lot, lot better and didn‘t cause issues - huge relief! However, by having missed so much training and racing, my shape is not on a level where I am competitive. Not on a national level, let alone on an Olympic level.
Jolanda Neff
The Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli’s replacement has already been announced as the 26 year-old Sina Frei. Frei, who races for Specialized Factory Racing at the UCI Cross-country World Cup’s, won a silver medal at Tokyo 2020 behind her compatriot Neff.
