Let's be clear right away, Swiss female downhillers are excluded from the discussion for the time being thanks to their consistent top performances - however, most of the points also apply to the female downhill faction. We talked to a few people about the phenomenon of "slow" Swiss men. Some of the answers were short and concise, such as Claudio Caluori's, while top cross-country rider Mathias Flückiger made a well-founded statement.

Claudio Caluori: "They should take their fingers out of their asses and train!"

Claudio Caluori: "The downhillers should take their fingers out of their asses and go train!" The cult rider also sees the willingness to put everything on the racing Map as a major shortcoming. Caluori put all his eggs in the downhill basket straight after graduating from high school.

Ernst Schurter: "The days of beer-swilling downhillers are definitely over!"

For former national coach Ernst Schurter, the lack of pure downhill routes is also an explanation. Until a few years ago, such tracks were almost non-existent in Switzerland. In the meantime, some routes have been created - but only a few have a real downhill character. According to Schurter, downhillers are still often seen as the beer-drinking louts - those days are long gone - downhill has become a serious sport. The lack of exceptional talent, such as his son Nino in cross-country racing, is also a major problem. However, given the size of Switzerland, the talent pool is also thinner than in the UK or France.

Lutz Weber: "The association is not interested enough in us downhillers!"

Swiss downhiller Lutz Weber, himself a World Cup rider, sees similar problems. Acceptance in Swiss society for downhillers is still a lot lower than for alpine downhill skiers, for example. The effort required to keep up at international level is now similar or even the same. In addition, downhillers are constantly being denied access to national sports promotion measures. Despite good results, Weber was not able to attend the top athlete recruit school - various other fringe sports are able to do so more easily. Weber also holds Swiss Cycling responsible here. "The association takes too little interest in downhill sport."

Mathias Flückiger: "The next generation lacks role models."

Cross-country rider Mathias Flückiger also has a clear opinion on downhill racing. However, he can't answer the question in one sentence - "just as there is no clear explanation as to why so many Swiss cross-country riders are at the top of the world." In Switzerland, young riders also lack role models. "When I think about it, when I saw guys like Frischi or Näf riding in a race or even starting in the same race, that was incredible for me and motivated me to get there!" The lack of downhill routes is also a big problem for the Olympian. "Nick Beer, for example, has no opportunity for ideal training conditions in his immediate surroundings and can only achieve them with a huge amount of effort - but that brings us to a political issue, where things are still pretty much stuck in Switzerland!" The best nations in downhill sport, such as England, France and Australia, cover precisely these points perfectly.

Not a universal solution!

The problem is more complicated than expected. Downhill sport probably needs a few more years and, above all - for those interested in Swiss sport - the necessary results. Then the necessary response from employers, sponsors and, above all, from the associations can be guaranteed. The large number of spectators at the World Cup in Lenzerheide demonstrated the great interest in the sport. Downhill mountain biking has developed into a high-performance sport that deserves to be treated accordingly - and has actually been doing so for some time.