Is the risk of bike park biking underestimated?
HOLGER MEYER: No. After all, you can also break your arm in an outdoor pool if you slip badly. But fatigue is underestimated. Bike park shredding is exhausting and requires full concentration. If your concentration wanes, it becomes dangerous.
What are the most popular moves among the participants?
Most of the FREERIDE camp participants want to learn how to jump and drop - controlled airtime. You can practise this well in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis bike park. However, a sequence of four tables that all have the right dimensions would be helpful. Similar to those in the Geisskopf bike park. The speed there is so low that I can concentrate fully on my technique and minimise the risk of injury due to the low speed. Because that's the best way to teach airtime newcomers to jumping.
Better slow than fast?
Yes, jumps at high speed make the biker believe that he can already jump. In the end, he makes it over the table. But in reality, it's just the high speed that shoots him over the jump. He doesn't have to do anything except hold on to the handlebars. But that's not a jumping technique - it's cannon-balling.
What's the right way?
My favourite example is bike pro Timo Pritzel. He approaches the jumps so slowly that you would never think he would make it to the landing. But by pushing, building up pressure, stretching his body, etc., he flies incredibly high. And that's exactly the feeling you want to have: Airtime. Not rocketing into the distance like a cannonball, but experiencing weightlessness through an active jump. Incidentally, this is also a prerequisite for tricks.
You need time to learn the technique. Do the participants in the FREERIDE camp have that?
Of course, the participants want to see quick successes - and many who take part in the FREERIDE camp are somewhat put off by the many radical photos in the magazine. This suggests that everyone flies over the jumps in a superwhip or suicide no hander. At the FREERIDE camp, we put this in the right light - and then it works very well.
How high is the learning success?
High. The goal of most participants: they want to make the drop from the hut roof in Serfaus. On the first day, many stand there in awe. But after a few days of training on the drop battery and other drops, they jump from the roof of the hut. Then they are happy and go home with a great sense of achievement.
Does the group dynamic help with this test of courage?
Absolutely. The coach encourages you, says you've got it. Or provides assistance by driving up and instructing you to do exactly the same as him. This helps you to block out your own fears, boost your self-confidence and concentrate on the technique. It also gives the participants a sense of security that they have been working intensively on the subject for three days. If you're just plugging away on your own, you don't have this mental support.
You yourself have been doing the sport for a long time. Has your view changed over the years?
I like riding in the bike park, but my real passion is alpine trails. When I ride in the park with my instructors, I also benefit from the group dynamic and do jumps and drops that I might not otherwise do. It's a great thrill.
Has park freeriding changed over the years?
The riding level is much higher today. This is also due to the fact that the routes have become better than in the early days. Now every jump or drop has a landing. That often wasn't the case in the past.
Your three favourite parks within reach?
(Hesitates. Thinks.) 1. Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Because that's the quickest way from Garmisch and I like the mix of park trails and natural descents like the Frommes Trail. 2. Livigno. 3. Portes du Soleil - I haven't been there for a while, but there are so many trails with different characters. Oh - I'm almost embarrassed that I can't say 1,2,3 at the drop of a hat, but I can't do that. Leogang has blossomed, I don't quite like Saalbach as much. Some tracks are very susceptible to wear and tear. If you hit them at the wrong time, it's going to be bad. Example: the Strada del Sole jump track in Serfaus. It's often so full of braking grooves that it's hardly any fun and just shakes you up.
Are you getting even better yourself?
Safer. When I approach jumps and drops again, I notice the control and confidence that comes with it. I have to say that I only ride maybe 5 to 10 per cent of the park.
Which trail in Serfaus did your participants like best?
My group liked the Morning Glory trail with its table jumps. A blue trail. And Supernatural with its many bends.
Will the FREERIDE-Camp 2020 take place in Serfaus again?
Yes, on the same date. You can already register now.
And you give a guarantee for the drop from the hut?
I give a drop guarantee. You don't know whether it will be the hut in the end (laughs).
More information under: http://www.dierasenmaeher.de
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
