Swiss see possibly best chance of gold medal for own people already partly up in smoke

The Mixed Team Relay event at the 2024 World Cycling Championships has once again lost some crowd-pleasers. Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands previously decided not to participate, but now Stefan Küng and Mauro Schmid will also abandon the event—nota bene in front of their own people—in Zurich. This firmly reduces the chances for the Swiss to win gold for the third time.

At the Wollongong (2022) and Glasgow (2023) World Championships, the Swiss won the event where three riders alternate with three. So in Zurich, the time trial champions from the Alpine country had the chance to secure the gold for the third time in a row, which would be a major achievement for their own people.

It will probably not turn out that way. Marlen Reusser, the leading woman in the trio, wasn't there anyway. The SD Worx-ProTime rider announced this week that she is suffering from post-covid syndrome. Reusser has not raced since May and does not know when she will return to the peloton. "The focus is on my health. It's about me getting well again," she said.

Elise Chabbey, Elena Hartmann, and Noemi Rüegg now represent the women's squad. Hartmann and Rüegg replace Reusser and Nicole Koller, who shared world championships the past two years. In the men's squad, the fast-rider trio Stefan Küng, Stefan Bissegger, and Mauro Schmid will remain intact, with the emphasis on would.

This is because Küng and Schmid, along with Marc Hirschi, are also among Sunday's road race leaders. Therefore, they asked the national coach to skip the Mixed Relay, which was granted. Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Johan Jacobs (Movistar) were called in as replacements, which firmly reduces the chances of gold (or any other medal).

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Swiss not starting in best lineup at Mixed Team Relay

Patrick Müller of Swiss Cycling regrets that they cannot start with the most ideal lineup for their people. "For the fans, we would have liked to do that, but the past Mixed Team Relay events have also shown that the women make the difference. We have a good selection of ladies, but defending the title would be difficult without Reusser as a driving force. Chabbey and Rüegg are not time trial specialists."

Nevertheless, the Swiss are at the start with ambitions, Müller stressed. "Johan is an excellent rider, and Silvan is a former track rider who also became world team time trial champion," he alluded to the World Team Time Trial Championship in the old form with BMC of Richmond in 2015. 'A lot is still possible on this atypical course,' the Swiss maintains.

Judging by the current provisional start list, Australia, Italy, France, and the United States are also favorites for the Mixed Relay, which will be held in Zurich on Wednesday.

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