Original Story

While I was riding my mountain bike in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, I came off the trail at high speed and crashed onto a pile of tree trunks with spiky branches. My lungs partially collapsed, I broke a rib, and my spleen got ruptured which caused internal bleeding.



To stop the bleeding, the medical team first wanted to remove my spleen with emergency surgery but luckily the trauma team at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, had an expert who could do a procedure called embolization, which meant he went into the artery of my leg to go up to the artery of my spleen to block it with a plug. I am very lucky to be in such good hands!



Luca Shaw has been taking such great care of me and I can’t thank him and his fantastic family enough for being here for me 24/7. Also big thanks to Steel City Media for getting me out of the woods. The people at Mission Hospital did an excellent job in a life-threatening situation and my guardian angel has been amazing the last couple days. Trek has been super supportive and sent me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I‘m still in a lot of pain and breathing is hard, but my condition is stable now. I’m sleeping a lot. Further plans have not been made yet. Thank you to everyone for your messages! — Jolanda Neff



Press Release: Trek



During a training ride in the Pisgah Forest, near Brevard, North Carolina, Jolanda Neff came off her bike at a high speed which resulted in a ruptured spleen, a fractured rib, and a collapsed lung.



“I misjudged a downhill corner on a trail that was new to me during my training ride and I went off track and over the bars, falling into a pile of logs,” said Jolanda Neff. “I immediately knew something was wrong.”



Neff received excellent care at the hospital in Asheville, NC where she stayed for three nights and was released.



In order to stop internal bleeding in her spleen, Neff’s emergency medical team used a technique called embolization and thankfully avoided the need to remove her spleen.



It’s unclear what these injuries mean for Neff’s preparation for the cross-country season and her Olympic bid. She was scheduled to compete at the Cyclocross World Championships in Duebendorf, Switzerland on February 1.





Trek have posted an update on Jolanda Neff's recovery after her training crash in North Carolina and it seems like we won't be seeing her racing for some time.As the Swiss rider celebrated her 27th birthday, she explained to her sponsor that although her spleen is still in her body, it is now dead. While this shouldn't affect her in the long run, she will have to be careful not to raise her blood pressure over the next three months or she risks bursting the plug in her artery, which would mean internal bleeding and emergency surgery.She is hoping that she will be able to recover quicker than the doctors advised but when asked about her racing prospects she said, “I will not race again until after March. I fly back to Switzerland next week to make a plan with the Swiss Olympic team doctor, Patrik Noack, on how to go forward. The more I rest, the faster I recover.”Read the full interview here Jolanda Neff has been involved in a crash she describes as "life-threatening" while training in North Carolina. She apparently crashed into a pile of tree trunks and branches and suffered a broken rib, a partially collapsed lung and a ruptured spleen.It sounds like she has now been stabilized thanks to the local medical services and filmer Joe Bowman but it likely means a long time off the bike for Neff as she explains that "futher plans have not been made yet".We wish Jolanda all the best in her recovery and hope to see her back on the bike again soon.