Flückiger assalito dagli hater e dal Covid salterà le prossime 2 gare di coppa

Mathias Flückiger salterà le due tappe nordamericane della coppa del mondo di XC dopo essersi ammalato di Covid ad Andorra, dove aveva vinto lo short track ma non aveva partecipato alla gara di domenica vinta da Braidot.

Il forte atleta svizzero descrive i giorni seguenti la caduta sua e di Nino Schurter a Lenzerheide in un post sul suo sito. A quanto pare è stato oggetto di commenti aggressivi da parte di hater o tifosi dell’altra fazione, se così si possono descrivere.

La scelta di rinunciare alla trasferta nordamericana è però legata alla convalescenza da Covid e, molto più probabilmente, dal volersi concentrare del tutto sui campionati del mondo di Les Gets a fine agosto, per riuscire a piazzare la sua rivincita alla cocente sconfitta del 2021 per mano di… Nino Schurter, che lo aveva superato all’ultima curva con una manovra azzardata ma corretta. La stessa manovra che poi Mathias ha provato a replicare a Lenzerheide, con minor successo.

La traduzione del post di MT:

What hurt me particularly (besides the missed victory) was that I was accused of intention, frustration, bad character and much more. Anyone who has ever raced or can put themselves in the situation of a biker knows: you have to make decisions in fractions of a second, intuitively. And intuition is based on experience. I would never cause a fall on purpose or out of frustration.

But what happened next got me thinking. I was shocked by how many people online are fueling frustration, aggression, anger and hatred – and all this just because of a fall of two mountain bikers. For the first time I have personally experienced how anger, frustration or even hatred is expressed online. This to a person you don’t even know personally and because of something that really doesn’t matter all that much in this world.

Perhaps the comparison is a bit off, but this behavior was also observed during the corona pandemic. You can do or say whatever you want. Certain people have an insatiable urge to take someone down. An elephant is made from a mosquito and this is done without any decency. This statement bothers and worries me to this day. Because it is something that affects all of us, yes, our entire society.

Thanks to my environment, I was ultimately able to concentrate on my job in the following week. Winning the short track in Vallnord (Andorra) meant a lot to me. It showed me that I am stronger than ever. It showed me that my joy as a professional biker is undiminished and that I continue to go my own way together with my team and those around me. That includes winning, but it also includes losing.

I was reminded of this just two days later. I had to forego a start in the cross-country race. Already on Saturday I didn’t feel so good. Unfortunately, the situation didn’t improve during the night on Sunday and so we decided together to focus on the rest of the season and not to start. Unfortunately, the severe cold symptoms were subsequently confirmed by test results as a Covid-19 infection.

I’m feeling better now. However, I have decided to skip the two overseas World Cups in Snowshoe and Mount-Sainte-Anne.