Rissveds: Two years ago, I didn`t want to be alive
(Cyclingnews.com)

After a two-year absence from cycling to focus on her mental health, Jenny Rissveds has made a remarkable comeback with a victory at the MTB World Cup in Lenzerheide. The Olympic champion returned to competition this spring with her new outfit Team 31 named after the United Nations` Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 31 that promotes child rights. `Two years ago, I didn`t want to be alive. I just want to say that it is possible,` Rissveds said in a post-race interview with the UCI after winning the series round ahead of Anne Terpstra and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who also made a return to the sport after recovering from double Iliac artery surgery. `Never give up. Like Pauline said last week when she won her first World Cup in a very long time, `never give up,` and I just want to say `never give up.` Never.ADVERTISEMENT `In Swedish, we say the circle is complete. Two years ago, I won this World Cup, and I won today. It`s such a journey. I can`t believe what journey I`ve been through. The circle is complete again.` Rissveds won the under-23 world title and the gold medal at the Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro in 2016. At just 22 years old she was the fastest-rising talent in the sport of mountain biking but decided to break her contract with former team Scott-SRAM. She needed to take time away from the sport to focus on her mental health. She cited an eating disorder and bouts of a deep depression following a disagreement with the Swedish Cycling Federation combined with the loss of her two grandfathers in 2017. She made a brief return to the sport last summer and won the Swedish national title. This spring, she announced in a Redbull video interview that she would return to competition on the MTB World Cup circuit with a team she launched - Team 31. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com