Motivated and feeling good at the start of the year, Jolanda Neff has to interrupt her preparations for the season. She breaks her left collarbone and right elbow in a crash at the GP Adrie Van der Poel in Hoogerheide. The St. Gallen native fell in Holland after a collision with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Now the cyclo-cross world championships, as well as the mountain bike World Cup opener in Stellenbosch and the Cape Epic, have been canceled. However, she wants to be back on the start line at the World Cup in Albstadt in southern Germany.

Neff underwent surgery on her collarbone today at the Berit Clinic in Speicher AR; her elbow injury is being treated conservatively. The 25-year-old from Thal will be able to resume training next week if everything goes well. For Swiss Cycling, the loss is a major setback. "Jolanda was in excellent shape; she could have won a medal at the World Cross-Country Championships," says national coach Bruno Diethelm.