Swiss cyclist Elise Chabbey has swapped her bike for a stethoscope as she helps the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
Initially on the roster for the Strade Bianche, as well as a series of Belgian semi-classics, Elise was looking forward to continuing what had already been a very strong start to the season for the team. However, with all races being called off for the near future due to the Coronavirus crisis, she wasn’t content to sit by and wait for racing to resume.
The 26-year-old Bigla-Katusha rider recently qualified as a doctor and she has now begun work treating those suffering from the virus.
“Doing nothing is not really in my nature,” Chabbey said. “What’s happening now is unprecedented and given the severity of the situation, I feel like I have to do something.”
While treating patients, Chabbey is still training for her goals later in the season, which are resulting in long days split between hospital and the bike.
“This week I had nine patients, and we anticipate there will be larger numbers coming to us over the next few days. When this crisis has abated, I’ll know that I tried to do my part and I hope I’ll be proud of that.
“I think that doing this now will actually help me mentally. And when racing eventually commences again, I’ll be more than ready and completely motivated to join my team-mates back on the road.”
