You wouldn't think it, but Nino Schurter served 80 days as a soldier in the Swiss army in 2019, Sina Frei even did 118 and Jolanda Neff 69. Nevertheless, they and the numerous other professional cyclists in the ranks of the army have not been in uniform since their basic military training. The sports soldiers serve between 30 and 130 days a year and then receive pay and income compensation. This is a significant financial boost for racers without a highly remunerated contract. Linda Indergand is the only temporary soldier and therefore permanently employed. The temporary soldiers receive a four-year contract, each covering one Olympic cycle. After the Games, the contracts are put out to tender again.
The service days of the sports soldiers hardly differ from their usual training routine. At the beginning of the year, they have to define the dates on which they will be out and about as members of the army. These can be training days at the Magglinen or Tenero performance centers, training camps organized by Swiss Cycling, competitions or self-defined travel and training days.

A look at the list of mountain bikers among the sports soldiers provided by the DDPS shows that the Swiss elite and U23 are almost completely represented. The only notable exception is Alessandra Keller. She did not forego financial support out of pacifism or an aversion to military etiquette, but because her studies in pharmacy at the ETH were not compatible with the elite sports RS and her other commitments. "The top-class sports SS would probably have been the path of least resistance for me too, but the training was more important to me," she explains.
Anyone who complains that the status of sports soldier is a preference for members of the army who are also good at sport is misunderstanding the purpose of this system. This is not about integrating athletes into the army, but about the military supporting top-class sport. After all, Schurter, Neff and co. were not spared the military basics (salute, march, etc.). A nice detail at the end: Whoever wins a world championship medal is promoted. Privates Neff and Schurter receive slightly more pay than their comrades of soldier rank.