Jolanda Neff seriously injured in high-speed crash in North Carolina

By published

Former world champion sustains ruptured spleen, fractured rib and collapsed lung

Jolanda Neff (Trek-Segafredo)
Jolanda Neff (Trek-Segafredo) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing) has sustained serious injuries as a result of a high-speed crash while mountain biking in the Pisgah Forest, near Brevard, North Carolina. 

Neff came off her bike at a high speed which resulted in a ruptured spleen, a fractured rib, and a collapsed lung, according to a Trek Factory Racing team press release.

"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 Neff. 

"I immediately knew something was wrong."

Neff was treated at a nearby 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, which 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 Tokyo Olympic Games bid next summer.

Neff was scheduled to compete at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Duebendorf, Switzerland on February 1.

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Kirsten Frattini

Kirsten Frattini is an honours graduate of Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's WorldTour. She has worked in both print and digital publishing, and started with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. Moving into a Production Editor's role in 2014, she produces and publishes international race coverage for all men's and women's races including Spring Classics, Grand Tours, World Championships and Olympic Games, and writes and edits news and features. As the Women's Editor at Cyclingnews, Kirsten also coordinates and oversees the global coverage of races, news, features and podcasts about women's professional cycling.