Jolanda Neff will make a cyclocross comeback after a three-year hiatus from racing at the top-tier at the UCI World-Cup in Namur on Sunday, joining a star-studded elite women's and elite men's fields that also mark the return of Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse.
The Swiss multi-discipline racer said she missed the 'culture', 'experience' and 'ambiance' of cyclocross racing, particularly in Belgium, and she even has an eye on the World Championships in Hulst, Netherlands, in January.
"It's in your culture [Belgium]. I don't find this anywhere else: the experience, the ambiance, the cheering from the crowd. The spectators are in a holiday mood; it's always fun to do. I definitely come for the unique atmosphere, but the beer is for my dad," Neff said.
She last competed in a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Iowa City, Fayetteville and Waterloo, USA in 2021. She has since competed in the North Carolina Grand Prix in 2022 and this November, where she won back-to-back events.
Neff has committed to racing eight events from the Namur World Cup to Gullegem Superprestige across Belgium between December 14 and January 3, according to Wielerflits.
"Eight races seem like a lot, but since I'm in Belgium, I might as well compete. I know some courses, like Baal, where I took my only Belgian victory in 2019, but I have to rediscover others. After Gullegem, I'll return to Switzerland for the national championships. The World Championships in Hulst remain an option," she said.
Neff, a former cross-country mountain bike Olympic and World Champion, said she is returning to cyclocross' highest level of races after a three-year absence because her coach believes she could benefit from a new approach to her upcoming season.
"When we were planning for 2026 after last season, my coach thought we needed a new challenge. Try something different, not the usual build-up towards summer. And since the first World Cup mountain bike round isn't scheduled until May, a return to 'cross seemed like the ideal challenge," she said.
