For the second time in eight races, the Swiss men are without a medal at the Olympic Games in mountain biking. But Mathias Flückiger and Nino Schurter don't have much to blame themselves for.
"Far from frustrated. I showed a solid race, I was able to realize 98 percent of my potential," Flückiger summed up. The Bernese rider's only regret was that he was probably too defensive in the downhill sections. "The many defects and crashes in the women's race probably blocked something in the back of my mind."
Schurter was also able to accept that it wasn't enough for an Olympic happy ending. "At my age, I need the perfect day to be at the front. I didn't have that. Of course I imagined today to be different. But I also feel grateful for everything I was able to experience at five Olympic Games."
Thomas Frischknecht (in 1996), Christoph Sauser (2000), Schurter (2008 to 2016) and Flückiger (2021) have already waved from the Olympic podium. There will be no debate as to whether the 2024 selectors made the wrong choice. The two veterans were the two strongest Swiss trump cards.
The nature of the course may have been partly responsible for the Swiss mountain bike nation's zero in France. It does not suit the Swiss taste: a lack of root stocks, a technically too easy course and a compact gravel surface even raise the question of whether it is worthy of the Olympics. Flückiger commented: "You can't compare the course with the courses in the World Cup. But I don't want to complain, that would be a cheap excuse." Would he have won a medal if he had performed 100 percent? "I would probably have stayed in contention and could have fought for the podium," he said.
Schurter also accepted the constructed course on the Élancourt hill. "Mountain biking has many facets, that's what makes the sport. You have to deal with what you find." However, the man from Chur added: "In my best times, I was able to ride at the front on every course, but not anymore."
The 38-year-old Schurter also had to put up with questions about retiring soon. He left this unanswered and merely stated that he had last raced at the Olympic Games. The 35-year-old Flückiger, on the other hand, even considers Los Angeles 2028 as a possibility. "Not because I have a score to settle with the past, but because I still see goals ahead of me."
The home World Championships in Crans-Montana in the summer of 2025 will take place on a course at the other end of the scale. At the main rehearsal, there were even discussions about whether the course was too dangerous.
SDA
