The Swiss rider has been away from racing since the beginning of May. On the opening stage of the Vuelta Femenina, Noemi sprinted to victory and earned the right to wear the race leader’s coveted red jersey. The following day, she crashed in the closing kilometers, fracturing her right humerus. Her surgeon and team doctors expected the fracture to take 12 weeks to heal – the exact amount of time until the peloton would roll out for the Grand Départ in Switzerland to kick off the fifth edition of the Tour de France Femmes.

The same heart and focus that makes Noemi a champion racer, she also applied to her recovery. Noemi followed orders diligently from her doctors and physio, and tapped into a deep well of patience any time self-doubts swirled around her, all with the aim of making EF Education-Oatly’s Tour de France Femmes roster.

Oh, and she also had a little help from a muster of storks.

Watch Noemi in “Learning to Fly Again” the latest film in the EF Pro Cycling Explore series, presented by Wahoo, exclusively on YouTube. The following extended interview is taken from the film.

Looking back to the first stage of the Vuelta, we were really committed to this goal that we wanted to go for the stage win, and I could really feel how everyone was motivated. Getting around this corner, sprinting out of the saddle, and I immediately felt like I had a gap. It actually went better than I expected.
And I could just hold them to the line, and could not really believe that I won.
It was such an expectable moment to hug all the girls at the finish, everyone was just so happy and so excited. The next day at the race, I got to wear the red jersey.
To experience it for the first time, it all felt a bit like I was dreaming. And then the crash happened.

This is actually what hurt the most. They had to cut my leader's jersey in the hospital. I asked them, ‘No, can you please not cut it,’ but they said that there was no other option, because I couldn't move my arm, so they had to cut it. 


The plan stayed the same. For the first week, no sweating, and just some walking would be fine. And then after one week, I could start on the trainer, easy, because I could not hold my handlebars yet.

I had a lot of time to think and reflect about everything that happened, to make peace with the situation and form a plan B, so I've had a lot of calls with the team, with the team doctor, to set up a new Plan B. And for me, it was all about just committing and trusting this plan. The doctors pretty much told me it’d be at least 12 weeks to heal this bone and be able to fully put pressure on it again and hopefully be ready for the Tour de France Femmes. The schedule was tight. Everything needed to go according to plan. 


I went to the physio. She treated my arm. Restarted some movement. I really felt like a new person, because I could finally reach my head. Then I was finally able to tie my hair back, which was a really big step! One of my biggest steps was that I could cut with my right hand, so I could cook a bit more. This was one of my struggles. I was not dependent on others anymore. It felt good.

Obviously I have to check on my bird friends, the storks, on the top of the church. Now I have these [binoculars], I can really look at them closely, and it's so cute, because there's a baby, and I guess the mom. Every morning, when I wake up, I look to see how they are doing. I can see the baby stork growing up.

Because I spent a lot of time just looking out of the window, and every day, I could see how they were growing up, and I also thought that it has a lot of similarities with my process. I also first felt like I was the baby in the nest and needed help. But then step by step, I flew again. I’d tell myself, the stork will know one day when it's time to fly. I will also know when it's time to do all these things, your body will tell when you're ready.

When I did my first efforts outside, I came back, and I looked at the nest, and all of a sudden, I could see one of the baby ones fly away. That was very special. Whenever I'm a bit in doubt, I look to the storks, and it just reminds me to be patient, and to wait for the day when I know it's time to fly again.

I also took the time to enjoy other things, family and friends time. Going to a hockey game, going to a concert and just enjoying normal life as well.

That was amazing.
I was really happy. I couldn't stop smiling. It made me realize also how much I missed riding outside, and why I love cycling so much, but also I felt like I had to get used to cornering and stuff again, and getting out of the saddle was not possible yet.
And I definitely felt the shoulder a bit, just felt some kind of pressure and taking the bottle with the right arm was still a bit of a challenge, but overall, I was really happy with being able to ride outside.

Of course, this whole process was filled with a lot of doubts. I had a lot more questions than I had answers. When I did my first ride outside, I was like, I don't think I can make it to the Tour, but then I was surprised how much of a difference two weeks could make, and I still had one month of hard work coming up, then I thought I should be fine.

In the end, I cannot change it, and I'll do everything I can to be back on the top step, hopefully soon again. During the year when you're in a good shape, then you don't really see the progress, but now I could really see how I was progressing, and that was really motivating. [I told myself] I have 90 days until the start of the Tour de France Femmes. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make it work. Let’s see how this goes.

Hopefully, it's just a smile on my face crossing the line, and no regrets. That's my goal for the first stage.