In talking to Edmund Telser, it is undeniable that one feels a pinch of curiosity about what could have been and what was not. It would have been interesting to see the South Tyrolean coach at work in Italy if he had had a chance., instead, the one who benefits from his expertise is the Swiss Federation, which since 2014 has seen the development of a project now envied throughout the world.
Let's make the necessary introductions: Edmund Telser is a 47 year old technician from Bolzano who in Italy had brought his region to the national top in off-roading, to the point that at the dawn of the century, especially in the women's sector, all the major talents came from there. Sensing his qualities and evaluating the work done especially at youth level, he was hired in 2014 by the Swiss Federation to relaunch the women's sector, which unlike the men's sector was already at the top around Nino schurter, was on the fringes of the hierarchy. "Edi", as he is known in the environment, put together a project and worked on it year after year, until the apotheosis of 2021, with the Olympic podium of women's MTB completely red and blue.
In the meantime, Telser has expanded her skills and now leads the Swiss women's cycling team in every cycling discipline: «I take care of all endurance disciplines, including road.The goal is to translate what has been done in MTB here too, but it takes time. When I started off-road, I gave myself 4 years to get results, here we are lucky to already have a champion like Reusser, but there is a lot of work to do to support her with a real team."
Looking at the Swiss lineup in Leuven, you notice a mix of names and a constant transition from mountain biking to road racing. Olympic medalist Frei herself was a key figure in Saturday's race, won by Balsamo...
The goal is to have a significant number of top athletes to choose from, but also, and above all, cyclists capable of emerging in multiple specialties., is a basic idea of the project also considering that the pool from which to draw is very limited.
Yet, judging from the results of the Swiss female bikers and especially their turnover at the top, you wouldn't think so...
There is no comparison with Italy. Only Lombardy has a higher number of youth practitioners than the whole of Switzerland.We need to work differently, with a targeted approach, with what we have. The main difference with Italy is cultural: Here an 18 year old girl either studies or works, but it means that in one case or the other 8-10 hours of the day are occupied by what is and remains the main occupationCycling is relegated to the time left, maybe they get up at 6 in the morning to train. But if results come, contracts can also arrive, and then cycling becomes a profession, for a few years, that brings in good money.
Is this a system that would work everywhere?
It's hard to say, but I don't think so. We also had to fish in other sports: Elise Chabbey, for example, national champion in 2020, in 2012 she participated in the Olympic Games in canoeing, then she switched to cycling which she combines with her profession as a doctor. Reusser herself practiced many sports before emerging on two wheels. As mentioned, cyclists who study or work, and even just want to participate in a training camp with the national team, must obtain permits, which aren't always easy.
Considering such a limited source material, how do you achieve such results? Girls who emerge at a very young age continue to progress; in Italy, they often fall by the wayside…
It's a cultural problem: In Italy, when a young girl achieves results, everyone is convinced they have found the new Paola Pezzo. This has led to the loss of many talented athletes, who, not achieving the same results and the same attention as adults, lose interest and eventually quit and dedicate themselves to other pursuits, finding other paths in their lives. An example is Greta Weithaler, who won everything as a junior but then never found the inner drive to persist. Sport matters, but it's not everything, and this concept is fundamental.
How do you do?
I try to give the girls, as they grow, always something new, continually changing the preparation based on two principles: the volume of work and the intensity., which must change from year to year. This allows them, on the one hand, to remain relevant, and on the other, to gradually mature and continue to improve. I currently work with two groups, MTB and road, which are interchangeable but distinct, even though the road group is still small.
In Italy you didn't have the opportunity to test your system...
No, I think a completely different project should be implemented in Italy. First of all I would collaborate with Salvoldi who is doing really great things, then something new would be needed. But we are in the realm of hypotheses, I have never received any real proposals, I can say that I collaborated at the time with Morelli (city at the turn of the century, ed.) I found myself well, but there was nothing else.
Will Italy ever have a multidisciplinary champion like Jolanda Neff?
An Neff It's a talent that comes into being if it goes well every thirty years... Someone who does well in three disciplines is feasible, but you have to know how to manage it. When I was in Colnago, Eve Lechner he also reached the national road team while he won a lot in offroad.
