In the men's race, the first two places were more or less already taken: Olympic champion Nino Schurter showed strong performances even in difficult times and rode to victory again at the World Cup in Albstadt. However, it has long been no secret that the Grisons native is only traveling to Tokyo with one goal: the gold medal. Mathias Flückiger has established himself at the top of the world in recent years and has become solid. And even as the top riders have become more concentrated, the Bernese rider has always ridden at the front of the World Cup. His selection is also no surprise.

Confidence given to the youngsters

Who would take third place, on the other hand, was more of an open question. Lars Forster showed with his victory at the World Cup final two years ago that he can be right up there at the front. However, this was not one of the selection races and he was unable to deliver his performance in the decisive competitions. Andri Frischknecht also met the selection criteria two years ago, but this year he lacked the necessary results. So the last remaining place goes to Filippo Colombo. The Ticino native performed superbly in the ultra-short 2020 season and continued to do so until shortly before the World Cup start. However, Colombo crashed heavily in Albstadt and suffered a fractured pelvis. His recovery is progressing faster than expected. However, his participation in the Olympics is dependent on his full recovery.

Should Colombo not be fit to race, U23 rider Joel Roth will take his place on the starting grid, as national coach Bruno Diethelm explains and adds: "We had a large selection of potential replacement riders who met at least one criterion. The fact that the reigning U23 European champion was chosen has to do with his recent performances and the fact that we prefer to give a young rider this opportunity in such a case."

No surprises in the women's squad
The three places in the women's squad are all predictable: Linda Indergand found back to her old strength, riding fresh as well as offensively, and this earned the Uri native a seventh and a sixth place in the Cross-Country World Cup - she is currently the best Swiss rider. Jolanda Neff has been a bit of a mystery since her injury just over a year ago. However, her form curve has clearly been on the rise since the World Cup opener.

Alessandra Keller is in the starting blocks as a replacement. However, the Nidwalden native is also considered unlucky as she was injured during the crucial build-up phase and was unable to fully exploit her potential in the last decisive selection races.