2015 Swiss road race champion Danilo Wyss sat down with CyclingQuotes just a few days before he was due to defend his title. He spoke with us about missing BMC’s Tour de France team, Swiss cycling and what the last year has been like riding around in his beautiful jersey.

Wyss spoke about his enjoyment of being Swiss champion and what the season has been like for him, especially as he rode Romandie and Suisse in his jersey this season.

“The last 12 months for me have been incredible. It has been a great year racing with the Swiss champ’s jersey. Of course, one of my biggest memories was riding with the jersey in the Tour de France. This was really nice. It was actually the first race I did in the jersey, which makes it special and a really great memory for me. I would also say that doing races at home like Suisse and Romandie is really nice, it gives me a lot of motivation and support from the public,” Wyss told CyclingQuotes exclusively the day before he attempted to defend the jersey.

With Wyss bringing up the Tour, it was the perfect chance to ask him about missing the BMC team this season. Was it his call of was he just unlucky to not make the strong final nine that is captained by Tejay van Garderen and Richie Porte?

“This year there is no Tour de France for me. I was really motivated to one more make the selection and I’m in really good shape at the moment after I did a good Tour de Suisse. Sot it’s upsetting for me. I was hoping to be selected but I think we have a really high level at BMC Racing Team at the moment and we have a really strong team for the Tour. I will try again next year to make it.”

While he may not have made the Tour team, on a brighter note, BMC revealed earlier this week that Wyss has signed a contract extension with the team. This will make it ten seasons with the team, something rather unique in pro cycling.

“It’s going to be my tenth year with BMC (in 2017), I’m really proud of that. I’ve been here since the beginning and I think it’s a really nice story to be in a team for ten years. Not many riders do that. The team has helped me a lot to improve as a rider. I started as a neo-pro with BMC so it was a great improvement for me and its also nice to see how the team has improved over the years. We started as a Pro Continental team and then moved step by step to the top. Its nice to see a really high level team with a top structure now.”

Between Wyss, 30, and his compatriot Michael Schar, 29, the duo have a combined 18 years of riding with BMC. We asked Wyss what he and his close friend Schar do to help the young Swiss riders in the team like Tom Bohli, Stefan Kung and Silvan Dillier.

“My impression of the young Swiss guys on the team is that they are really talented. Kung in particular really impresses me. I have to say he is a really big talent and it is a shame he will miss the Olympics after his crash in the National TT. With Dillier and the other riders of the team pursuit, they had a good chance at getting gold on the track. I look forward to racing with them and trying to teach them with my experience, passing on small advice. I hope some of what I say can make a difference in the future and help them win a big race. It’s nice to race with not only them, but all of the young guys who come from the BMC Development Team.”

Our final big topic of conversation was the fact that 2016 is a little bit of a dark year for Swiss cycling. Legendary champion of the sport Fabian Cancellara will draw the curtain on a magnificent career once 2016 concludes, and IAM Cycling, the country’s only WorldTour team will close its doors, leaving just BMC (who are US-registered but funded by Swiss billionaire Andy Rihs) left.

“I think its going to be a hard time for Swiss Cycling with IAM ending at the end of the season and Fabian retiring, but we also have some good guys coming up like the three we just spoke about, Kung, Bohli and Dillier. There are also some younger names who will arrive in the pro ranks in just a few years time. We still have some good guys and it’s like a wheel that will keep on turning. A hard year may be coming but for sure it’s not going to be too long until we have some more success in the WorldTour.”