After the two opening competitions in the USA, the World Cup circus travels to the Old Continent. Thirteen Swiss athletes will be competing in Koksijde, Belgium, on Sunday (see selections below). After meeting in Andermatt in the summer to prepare, the Swiss delegation completed a training camp in the Netherlands at the beginning of October. "The preparation went very well," says a delighted national cyclo-cross coach Bruno Diethelm. "The riders have really pushed themselves. I have the impression that more and more of them want to devote themselves intensively to cyclo-cross. That's a very positive development."

No Swiss riders competed in the first two World Cups in the USA. "Of course, this has to do with the very high travel costs, but it also shows that the races taking place in Switzerland at the same time are very attractive," explains Bruno Diethelm. The national coach is counting on his riders and is hoping for good publicity for the discipline throughout the season. "I hope that they will help to make the sport of cyclo-cross more popular again in Switzerland. This would be all the more desirable as a World Cup may be held in Bern next year and the World Championships are scheduled for Dübendorf in 2020."

"A nice challenge"

Jolanda Neff is also part of the thirteen-strong Swiss selection. Less than two months after winning the title at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Cairns, the St. Gallen native is taking part in her very first cyclo-cross World Cup. "This is a great challenge for me! Cyclo-cross is a very technical discipline with lots of bends, sand, jumps and so on. The experience I gain will certainly benefit me in the technical area of mountain biking. It also motivates me to train in winter."

However, the cross-country specialist is not venturing into completely uncharted territory. On October 1, she already took part in a stage of the EKZ CrossTour in Bern - and won the competition. "It was very tough, but really cool at the same time. I had a lot of fun," says Jolanda Neff. "I've always wanted to ride cyclo-cross. I had planned to do the discipline for the last two winters, but then injured my hand each time. I hope it works out this year. Being able to start is already like a victory for me." The St. Gallen native will then concentrate on her studies, but wants to return to the cyclo-cross World Cup in mid-December.

www.swiss-cycling.ch