Pascal Richard paved the way by winning gold in the Olympic road race.
Then last Sunday Alex Zuelle led compatriots Laurent Dufaux and Tony Rominger to an historic sweep of the Tour of Spain.
Not since 1920, when a trio of Belgians swept the Tour de France, had riders from the same country claimed the top three places in a Tour.
Now Zuelle, Rominger, Dufaux and Richard are determined to add to their successes at next week's world championships in Lugano.
``The victory has given me a lot of confidence,'' said Zuelle. ``My morale was wavering after a disappointing Tour de France and an Olympics that wasn't much better.
``A lot of people doubted my ability to win a big Tour and after the Olympics I started to doubt myself. Not anymore.''
Swiss riders have prospered individually over the years, with Rominger winning the Tour of Spain three times.
``Part of the reason for success is that sport goes in cycles,'' said Prospere Dubouloz, vice-president of the Swiss cycling federation. ``The Belgians were a great cycling nation for a while but now there is nobody.
``They're at the bottom of the valley right now and we are at a peak. The essential thing is that we are reaping the fruits of our labour.''
While the Swiss cycling federation would like to take credit for the success, even they admit the results have come through good fortune rather than design.
When most of the ONCE team came down with food poisoning during the Tour of Spain, including Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, Zuelle walked away from the dining table unaffected.
Many of the Swiss also benefit from riding for top teams, Zuelle with ONCE, Rominger with Mapei and Dafaux with Festina.
``It's true these are racers of an exceptional class,'' Dubouloz said. ``Even with our system there might not have been great stars if they weren't of such an exceptional class themselves.''
The Swiss federation is taking an active role in recruiting and nurturing talent in the hope of preventing a sudden slump in the nation's fortunes.
Some of that talent may come out of the Swiss army's bicycle battalion.
More likely it will be produced by the country's Jeunesse et Sport national school in Macolin, a modern state of the art training centre.
``We have a great framework for our youth,'' said Dubouloz.
``We have good recruiting going and a good infrastructure. Right now the reservoir is full.''
1. Vervecken (Bel) 2. Van der Poel (Ned) 3. Radomir Simunek (Tsj) 4. Richard Groenendaal (Ned) 5. Markwalder (Swi) 6. De Vos (Ned)