E-MTB world champion Joris Ryf in an interview: "When the motor overheats, I attack."

E-bike racing: Still frowned upon by many, for Joris Ryf it was the career decision of a lifetime. The Swiss rider switched from cross-country racing to e-bikes in 2020 - and rode to the world championship title in Glasgow three years later. We met him at a training camp in Spain and asked him how e-racing really works.

BIKE: You have been competing in cross-country races since you were a child, later even at World Cup level. Then came the switch to e-mountain bikes in 2020. What were the reactions?

Joris Ryf: It wasn't the easiest decision at the time. But I was fed up with competing in the same race format year after year and wanted to try something new. When everyone knew that I was switching to an e-bike, I lost face in a way. Just like: "Just because he wasn't fit enough to do well in cross-country, he's switching to an e-bike." It wasn't until I became world champion in Glasgow three years later that I felt I was respected again. But before that? Yes, a lot of people looked down on me.

'You're not fit enough, that's why you ride an e-bike' - that has changed. - Joris Ryf, e-bike world champion 2023

BIKE: How does an e-bike race weekend differ from classic XC racing?

Joris Ryf: With the organic bike, you have two or three days of track inspection and the race on Sunday. With the e-bike, we always ride two races - one hour each, Saturday and Sunday. However, you don't ride the same route twice, but simply ride the course the other way round on the second day. That makes everything more complicated. You have to memorise the route twice, train all the sections twice and lose a lot of energy before the actual race.

Does your daily training routine look any different since you switched from an XC bike to an e-bike?

Not really. From December to March, I still ride my road bike or my race bike a lot to prepare for the season. For basic, threshold or VO2max units, I can simply control the intensity better without a motor. The only e-specific units are occasional intervals on the e-bike - with full support in turbo mode. I train to accelerate beyond the speed limit of 25 km/h, as is often the case in races. During the season, I then swap the normal XC fully for the e-bike so that I don't have to get used to a new bike before every race and can also hone my technique. However, the amount of training and the type of training remain the same.

Why do you still have to train so hard? Don't you have a motor?

That is true. However, the motor is only partially decisive in the war. Of course, if you have a bike that produces 100 watts less peak power than your opponents, you have a problem - you can't compensate for that with your legs, at least not for an hour. However, if the drives can all deliver similar performance data, which is usually the case in the World Cup, your riding technique and how fast you can ride your bike above the 25 km/h limit without motor assistance are what count.

E-races are decided where the motor stops helping. - Joris Ryf, e-bike world champion 2023

That sounds paradoxical: e-bike races are decided when the motor no longer provides any assistance?

Exactly. For example, if you pedal at 140 watts - a well-trained man can easily maintain this for over an hour - then you get the maximum power from the motor and end up right at the 25 km/h limit on the flat. As the e-racers are all fit, you can't pull away in this area. If you want to open up a gap, you have to be able to pedal past the 25 km/h limit.

And there are no other ways to stand out?

Yes, of course. For example, it is an advantage if you always manage to ride as close as possible to the 25 km/h limit. Only those who always ride at the right cadence, are in the right gear and don't slow down will stay in the perfect support range of the motor for as long as possible. With all the bends, obstacles and counter-climbs on a racetrack like this, it's not that easy to coordinate - especially when your heart rate is at the limit.

Do you drive the whole race in turbo mode or do you have to save battery power?

Standard is turbo - definitely. However, I also always have a second mode at the ready, which is less powerful. I use it, for example, when the ground is very loose, wet or muddy and I can't get the maximum power to the ground. In such cases, a little less support is more efficient and faster. How much weaker the support is here depends on the conditions.

Full throttle for an hour: That in combination with high outside temperatures sounds to me predestined for derating problems (drop in performance due to heat). Is this sometimes a problem?

Fortunately, not since I joined Specialized. We are really the only ones who don't have a derating problem. I can ride exactly the same lap times for an hour. No matter whether it's 35 degrees in Sardinia or 10 degrees in Romania. It's a different story at other brands.

I wait behind my opponent - and when the derating starts, I attack. - Joris Ryf, e-mountainbike world champion 2023

From this perspective, the engine does seem to be a decisive factor when it comes to winning or losing. Do you utilise the advantages of your drive in a targeted manner?

To be honest: yes. This usually becomes relevant in the second half of the race and always happens in the same way: the car in front starts to turn round and constantly slows down. Then I attack - not because I'm stronger, but because I know that his engine is now slowly giving way and mine isn't. And even if the competition doesn't have a derating problem, it at least gives me mental security to know that my bike will work perfectly right to the end. Always hoping that the engine will do another lap without derating takes away capacity that you then lack elsewhere.

The UCI has established a rule since the 2025 World Championships: 750 watts maximum motor power. Many of the new motors need extra weaker software for this. What do you think of that?

I think it's the right thing to do. Before, it felt like it was all about who had the better boost button. With this regulation, we are finally riding under fair conditions. The only problem is that if you want to ride in the World Cup, you have to have the motor checked by the UCI for the bike to be authorised at all. This is quite expensive and makes it difficult for many privateers to get into e-racing.

Aren't you worried that this regulation could slow down the development of engines?

No, not at all. 750 watts is completely sufficient. In my opinion, an e-mountainbike doesn't need more. The industry should rather focus on making bikes better in other respects, not just pushing the performance data even higher. Lighter motors, lighter batteries, smarter systems - that's the direction we need to go in.