The prudent team boss Ralph Näf has landed a transfer coup. With the 19-year-old Alexandre Balmer, one of the greatest talents in Swiss cycling is joining the team of the Eastern Swiss. Alexandre Balmer celebrated great success as a junior and was world and European champion. He was also voted Swiss Young Athlete of the Year in the Swiss Sports Aid poll.

And in his first year in the U23 category, he immediately showed who to expect in the future. At the World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada, he finished an excellent ninth and was the second fastest of all 19-year-olds in the field (youngest age group).


Alexandre Balmer stands out not only because of his strong results. The Frenchman is 192 centimetres tall and impresses with his talent for languages. In addition to French, Balmer speaks excellent German, English and, thanks to his Brazilian mother, Portuguese. In addition to cycling, Balmer is training to become a polymechanic, including a vocational baccalaureate.

For Balmer, the jump to a professional team is the logical step in his development. And Balmer is doing this twice over. While he rides for Ralph Näf's team on his mountain bike, the young rider from western Switzerland will race on the road as part of the junior team of the well-known Groupama-Française des Jeux road cycling team.
Apart from the transfer of Alexandre Balmer, the Thömus RN Swiss Bike Team remains unchanged. With Mathias Flückiger from Bern and Alexandra Keller from Nidwalden, the team has two athletes with justified hopes of competing at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Kathrin Stirnemann from Aargau and the two Grisons U23 riders Vital Albin and Ursin Spescha complete the strong Swiss team.

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