A Wheelchair Instead of a Race Track: Teocchi Faces His Toughest Race Yet

Chiara Teocchi

While the mountain bike world champions were being crowned in Val di Sole, one rider—who had once looked forward to her home World Championships with joy and ambition—was missing. Chiara Teocchi suffered a spinal cord injury in a crash at the World Cup in La Thuile. As if that weren’t enough, the 29-year-old went into cardiac arrest during surgery. She survived, but has been in a wheelchair ever since. Now, the Italian’s biggest race is about to begin.

Over the past few days, the mountain biking world has been focused on Val di Sole. Medals were awarded, world champions were crowned, and great stories were made. One woman who wanted to write her own chapter in Val di Sole followed the action from a completely different perspective.

Nearly two months after her serious crash at the World Cup in La Thuile, Chiara Teocchi returned at the end of August with a video. Smiling and composed, she also introduces her “new friend” in the video: her wheelchair. No one knows at this point how long it will be a part of her life.

A Crash Changes Everything

On July 5, Teocchi suffered a serious crash at the Cross-Country World Cup in La Thuile. She was initially taken to a hospital in Aosta and later transferred to Bergamo. There, doctors diagnosed a spinal cord injury and decided to perform surgery.

During the procedure, the story took another dramatic turn. According to Teocchi, she suffered an allergic reaction to a medication and went into cardiac arrest. For nearly an hour, the doctors fought to save her life.

Teocchi herself sums up those hours with a remarkable statement: She won her most important race—the race for her own life.

The consequences of the fall remain. The Italian is currently in a wheelchair and undergoing rehabilitation. “I’m working very hard to be able to walk again,” she says. But no one can say at the moment where this journey will lead.

A new race begins

For years, Chiara Teocchi was among the world’s top cross-country skiers and represented Italy at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where she finished in eleventh place. Now, results and split times have become meaningless.

Her daily life consists of rehabilitation and medical care. The goal is clear: to give herself every possible chance at the best possible recovery. Perhaps one day, the path will even lead her back to her bike.

The specialized rehabilitation, medical care, and assistive devices required for this entail significant costs. That is why a fundraiser has been launched. The goal is 30,000 euros, and a large portion of that has already been raised.

In Val di Sole these past few days, the focus was on who could navigate roots, rocks, and steep climbs the fastest. Chiara Teocchi now faces entirely different obstacles. Her most important goal right now isn’t behind a finish line, and there are no rainbow stripes to be won.

But it is the most important race of her life.