Nathalie Schneitter

Nathalie Schneitter (born 19 June 1986 in Lommiswil) is a Swiss professional mountain biker.[1] Throughout her sporting career, she has won numerous Swiss national championship titles (both under the junior and elite category), and more importantly, a gold medal in the under-23 category at the 2008 European Mountain Bike Championships. Schneitter also handed an opportunity to represent her nation Switzerland at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and later rode professionally for more than five seasons on an exclusive sponsorship contract with the Colnago Team.[2]

Nathalie Schneitter
Personal information
Full nameNathalie Schneitter
Born (1986-06-19) 19 June 1986
Lommiswil, Switzerland
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Team information
Current teamColnago-Fabre-Sudtirol
DisciplineMountain biking
RoleRider
Rider typeCross-country
Professional teams
2008–2009Colnago-Cap-Arreghini
2010Colnago-Arreghini-Sudtirol
2011–Colnago-Fabre-Sudtirol

Racing career

Schneitter sought sporting headlines on the international scene at the 2008 European Mountain Bike Championships in Sankt Wendel, Germany, where she held off a tight battle against Slovenia's Tanja Zakelj and Czech Republic's Tereza Huříková for the gold medal in the women's under-23 cross-country race, adding a silver to her early career resume from the World Junior Championships in Val di Sole, Italy.[3][4]

Few months later, Schneitter qualified for the Swiss squad, along with her teammate and 2007 world champion Petra Henzi, in the women's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving one of the nation's two available berths for her team from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), based on her best performance at the World Cup series and Mountain Biking World Rankings.[5] At the start of the race, Schneitter landed on her head into the ground on the initial lap, but managed to successfully complete a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course with a career-high, fifteenth-place effort in 1:53:42.[6][7][8]

Shortly after the Olympics, Schneitter signed an exclusive sponsorship contract with Colnago-Cap-Arreghini Team for two additional seasons, followed by her short stint on Colnago-Arreghini-Sudtirol in 2010.[9][10] In that same year, she defeated Italian rider Eva Lechner for the gold medal in the women's cross-country race at the fourth stage of the Nissan UCI MTB World Cup in Champéry, and later continued to flourish her mountain biking success by taking home the silver for her Swiss squad in the mixed team relay at the 2011 UCI World Championships.[11][12]

Schneitter sought to compete for her second Swiss squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but suffered heavily with a shoulder injury from the bike crash that sidelined her Olympic bid at the final stage of the UCI World Cup in La Bresse, France.[13][14] She also affiliated with her former rival Lechner to lead Italy's Colnago-Fabre-Südtirol for three more seasons, as her exclusive contract with the team was officially renewed until 2014.[15]

Career achievements
2006
1st Karapoti Classic (NZL)[16]
2008
European Championships (Cross-country, U23), Sankt Wendel (GER)
UCI World Championships (Cross-country, U23), Val di Sole (ITA)
15th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Beijing (CHN)
2010
5th Overall, UCI World Cup
Stage 4 (Cross-country), Champéry (SUI)
7th European Championships (Cross-country), Haifa (ISR)
2011
1st Swiss MTB Championships (Cross-country), Champéry (SUI)
UCI World Championships (Cross-country, Team relay), Champéry (SUI)
5th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Champéry (SUI)
8th Overall, UCI World Cup
2013
2nd Australian MTB National Series, Mount Buller, Victoria (AUS)
9th European Championships (Eliminator sprint), Bern (SUI)
11th European Championships (Cross-country), Bern (SUI)
11th UCI World Championships (Eliminator sprint), Pietermaritzburg (RSA)
15th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Pietermaritzburg (RSA)

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nathalie Schneitter". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. "Schneitter renews with Colnago Sudtirol". Cyclingnews.com. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  3. "Slovenia's Tanja Zakelj wins the U23 women's cross-country in Italy". Velo News. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  4. Platter, Martin (18 May 2008). "Schweizer Biker mit Luxus-Problemen" [Swiss bikers with luxury problems] (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  5. "Sport Kleinste Olympiadelegation seit 32 Jahren" [Smallest Olympic delegation in 32 years] (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  6. "Women's Cross-Country Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  7. "Spitz wins scorcher in Beijing". Velo News. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  8. "Spitz grabs women's mountain bike gold". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  9. "Wells records career best World Cup with sixth-place in Andorra". USA Cycling. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  10. "Kenda, sponsor tecnico del Team Colnago Cap Arreghin" [Kenda, technical sponsor of Team Colnago Cap Arreghini] (in Italian). RMS. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  11. "Mishaps prove costly for Pendrel at mountain bike World Cup". The Globe and Mail. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  12. George, Sue (1 September 2011). "Past Champery winner Schneitter eager to race Worlds at home". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  13. George, Sue (23 May 2012). "Outstanding La Bresse World Cup pays off for Näf and Vogel". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  14. "Die Lommiswilerin Nathalie Schneitter ist auf der Jagd nach der Olympialimite" [Lommiswil's Nathalie Schneitter is on her quest for the Olympic Games] (in German). Solothurner Zeitung. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. "Lechner and Schneitter lead Colnago-Südtirol in 2012". Cyclingnews.com. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  16. "Karapoti Hall of Fame". MDJ Media & Events Ltd & Karapoti Classic. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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