But you still look pretty fit for being retired.
Well, retirement would be an exaggeration. I'm still racing and haven't made any hard cuts. My training isn't much different from before. I can still deliver top performances and prepare for highlights.
What exactly are you doing now?
I work at the management consultancy Homburg und Partner in the field of health and sport. With my background as a competitive athlete and pharmacist, I can combine both worlds perfectly.
So you're dancing at two weddings now?
I've always done that. The sport of biking never really took hold of me. When I was at university, nobody knew that I was a professional cyclist. My partner has nothing to do with cycling and I have a lot of acquaintances who don't know anything about it. As a bike pro, I also studied to be a pharmacist. I've always wanted these two worlds.
What exactly do you do as a consultant?
As a pharmacist, I give lectures for Homburg und Partner and prepare assessments in the field of pharmacy and health. However, we have recently introduced the consumer and sports products sector. As an athlete, I did nothing other than present sports products to the public. I was an advertising figure. But brands used to attract attention much more quickly - through good results, quirky characters and so on. Today, it's all much harder and I'm now developing new ideas for different products. Incidentally, I also have a bike team project in the starting blocks, but unfortunately I'm not allowed to say anything about it yet.
You had a reputation as the greatest talent in cross-country sport. Nevertheless, you never made it to the top. Why is that?
I always picked my highlights and was then in my top form. In 2009, I came second twice in the World Cup, only Absalon was faster. What you can criticise me for is that I never concentrated on a whole season, only on the highlights.
You could pedal more watts than almost anyone else. You always seemed to be a bit scared going downhill. Did that perhaps cost you the really big victories?
Maybe that's why I lost, but to come second behind Absalon is great. Absalon is the ultimate athlete for me. The man lives and develops with the sport. I was often close and naturally asked myself: How do I make up those few seconds? The downhill was my weakness, that's just the way it is. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to it at the beginning. On the other hand, I also lacked the time.
How can a professional lack the time for such important training?
Many people know me for two things in particular: Kurschat rides uphill like a moped. And he only trains on the roller. I wasn't on the roller because I enjoyed it. I love trails and flow, but I had to optimise my training. When I came home from university, it was dark. That's why the roller came into play. There was only time to ride outside at the weekend. So I trained the best legs in the world in the evenings in the basement, but I lost out on the technical side.
Would you do it again?
Yes. I never wanted to be one hundred per cent professional. I always wanted other things too: Have children, educate myself, live a normal life. I love biking. But for me, the lifestyle always came first and then the sport.
So you're not crying after racing?
No, the courses today are designed in such a way that if you have a bad starting position, you have hardly any chance of getting to the front. You have to take part in every race in the world to slowly fight your way up the starting block. I don't want that any more. What's more, the courses have become increasingly dangerous in recent years. As a father of three, if I fall flat on my face in the Rockgarden, not only is the season over, but also my everyday life at home. It might even jeopardise my entire sporting career. I find the development particularly problematic for young riders: if you crash badly today, you're out for months. And then you have to find a team that will take you on again. In cross country, salaries have just been massively cut. Even the top riders are getting less. What do you want to say to young riders? Ride for nothing, but train highly professionally - and if you get injured, then you have to see where you end up? The sport needs to get back to basics: simpler but exciting routes that don't seriously injure anyone.
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