Jolanda Neff crushed the Olympic cross-country event in Izu, leading a historic Swiss treble. She won ahead of Sina Frei and Linda Indergand for an unexpected triple feat.
Jolanda Neff crushed the Olympic cross-country event in Izu, leading a historic Swiss treble. She won ahead of Sina Frei and Linda Indergand for an unexpected triple feat.
This is only the third time in Olympic history, Summer and Winter Games combined, that a Swiss treble has been achieved. The previous two had been in gymnastics, in 1924 and 1936 …
It had rained in Izu hours before the start, making the course slippery and upsetting all landmarks. Formidable technicians, daring but not daredevil, the Swiss women have dominated the French announced great favorites.
The surprise is considerable. Jolanda Neff broke her left hand in mid-June in Austria in the World Cup. His career had also been compromised by a ruptured spleen that occurred at the end of 2019 in training in the United States.
Coming back from nowhere or almost
But free this time from any pressure, the 28-year-old Saint-Welsh, world champion in 2017 but only 6th at the Rio 2016 Olympics, resurfaced when we least expected to beat Sina Frei by 1’19 ‘ ‘and Linda Indergand of 1’23’ ‘. And to think that the Swiss have not been on a World Cup podium once this season!
Since the discipline was introduced at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Swiss mountain bikers have already won ten Olympic medals.
For Neff, it’s a resurrection. The four-time European champion and three-time winner of the World Cup general, after her serious injury at the end of 2019, would certainly not have been there if the Olympics had not been postponed for a year because of the Covid.
A versatile
The daughter of the former vice world champion in the specialty Markus Neff took advantage, on this very demanding course, of her versatility, she who also shines on the road and in cyclocross. Since she moved to the United States with her American companion, also a mountain biker, she has further broadened her palette to display a beautiful ease in the descent, plus an extraordinary tactical and nervous mastery.
“Our opponents made mistakes, we were able to stay calm,” said bronze medalist Linda Indergand. In fact, the French Loana Lecomte, winner of the four World Cup races this season, was overtaken by events after notably technical problems. And her compatriot Pauline Ferrand-Prévot fell in the first round.
Nothing and no one could spoil the Swiss festival.
This article was published automatically. Source: ats
