Ronja Blöchlinger – a promising future
Wet and muddy or hot and stony – Ronja Blöchlinger prefers it when the conditions are really difficult, just as they were at the season finale in Canada. The mountain biker and SFISM bachelor's student became the overall champion in the UTC MBI World Cup rankings in both the cross-country Olympic discipline and the short track in the Under 23 category. Out of eight races in the short track, she stood on the podium eight times.
Now she is sitting here in Magglingen with a cup of tea, happy and relaxed, looking back on her great successes this year. «It took me a moment to realise what I've achieved,» says the U23 season winner. But resting on her laurels is not her thing. After being honoured for her special achievements at the Swiss Cycling Night in Zurich at the end of November, the athlete from Appenzell, who lives in Biel, is already on her way to a training camp in Tuscany with the Swiss women's national team. Technique and basic training are on the agenda and she’s looking forward to it – after all, she has her sights set on a big goal: qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She has already met the criteria for the Olympics – but so too have several other Swiss women, and there are only two quota places. When asked about it, she says: «It will be very tough, but it's not impossible.»
A multi-sport athlete raring to go
Ronja Blöchlinger is a consummate athlete. «I need a change from cycling,» she says with a laugh, explaining that she played handball intensively for nine years and almost became a handball player. However, a torn ligament paved the way towards mountain biking. The 22-year-old trains by lifting weights and going cross-country skiing, rollerblading, swimming, jogging, climbing, and cycling on her racing bike – also because she wants to maintain her love for her main discipline. She currently trains once or twice a day, so she needs variety. Variety is also the order of the day in her private life: she shares a flat in Biel with two flatmates who are not from the world of sport, so she also has other things to talk about, which does her good.
First race at five years old
Her family didn't have a car when she was growing up, which is how she got into cycling. Emulating her big brother, she took part in her first cycling race at the age of five – naturally, with a single-speed bike, because she couldn't change gears at the time. Nowadays, she’s known for her excellent riding technique and pronounced athleticism. Short steep climbs are her specialty, which is why she dominated the short track races at the World Cup. These races are decided in the last two laps, where explosive anaerobic power is required alongside tactics and mental strength. She doesn't take too many risks, she knows what she can do, and she plays to her strengths. Her success proves her strategy is the right one.
Magglingen from different perspectives
Ronja Blöchlinger knows Magglingen very well: she completed a short internship in Magglingen, is currently studying for a bachelor's degree, has trained at the elite sport recruit school, and knows the performance diagnostic tests from an athlete's perspective. She likes the place, she knows a lot of people, and everything is familiar. Her love of sport is what motivated her to start a sports degree programme in Magglingen.
Elite sport recruit school a turning point
Her focus has shifted since the elite sport recruit school in autumn 2022. Before that, she was primarily a student and rode mountain bikes intensively. Now she is foremost an athlete and has organised her final year of study around the competition season. She has a contract with Liv Factory Racing and is able to make a living from the sport for the first time. She appreciates the opportunity to combine her studies with sport… or rather sport and her studies. Of course, there is still room for improvement when it comes to coordinating the bachelor's curriculum and training. She hopes that it will continue to be possible to combine the two in Magglingen, even after the reform of the bachelor’s programme. For her, one thing is certain: Magglingen has a high status in Swiss sport and therefore also serves as a role model for other degree programmes when it comes to being able to combine studies and elite sport.
Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen SFISM
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2532 Macolin