It's snowing in the Allgäu. Ines Thoma shivers as she pushes her enduro bike through the powder snow. "I'd actually like to go skiing now, but I'm travelling to New Zealand soon for the start of the Enduro World Series," says the 25-year-old, putting on her helmet. "I was supposed to finish this autumn. I wanted to start my traineeship, but a lot has changed after last season's successes." Thoma won the prestigious Trans-Provence, the German Enduro Championship title and finished fifth in the Enduro World Series. The sponsors were so happy that they made Thoma an irresistible offer. "I'm at a crossroads. Bike sport or traineeship? I've been carrying this around with me for a fortnight and haven't been able to decide yet," she says and clicks the pedals.
For the last two years, Thoma has lived her sport like a full professional. After completing her studies, the Allgäu native focussed entirely on enduro, while she deepened her knowledge of working with dyslexics in the form of a distance learning course.
"The conditions here are ideal for me: I have a flat with my parents and the training facilities are perfect. Those are the reasons why I'm so far ahead. If I was at school in autumn 2015, I certainly wouldn't be able to keep up this performance. Above all, of course, I wouldn't be able to travel as much."
Before switching to enduro, Thoma rode cross country in the national team for more than ten years. Her dream of competing in the Olympic Games was shattered in 2009 when she injured herself so badly that she had to stop biking temporarily. "After that, I studied and went through with it. Enduro riding came as a side effect when friends persuaded me to go racing again. I was so infected that I wanted to give the sport another go after my studies."
Changing nappies, gluing carbon wheels, working in administration or studying - being a professional almost always means having a plan B in your pocket. One crash, one bad year, and the source of money dries up. "How well you can then compete with the absolute best in the world remains questionable. But for some, it works perfectly," Thoma shouts into the snow. Then she races down the slope at full throttle.
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