Alongside Olympic rookie Manuel Fumic, Maximilian Brandl from the Lexware Mountain Bike Team represented Germany at the Mountain biking in Tokyo. With start number 15 on his handlebars, Brandl started the Olympic race from the second row of the grid. The demanding cross-country competition on the Izu MTB course was a tough challenge for both equipment and rider. For the first time, Brandl rode the new Scott Spark RC in the race. While the Olympic victory went to the young Briton Tom Pidcock, the 24-year-old Brandl fought for a place in the top 20 away from the TV pictures. 13th place at the start of the first lap was followed by 22nd place towards the middle of the race. In the end, he finished 21st in his Olympic debut, 4:35 minutes behind. In his diary entry, he tells us how his first Olympic Games went, what he says about van der Poel's crash and whether he is satisfied:
"It's hard to believe that the race is actually over now. I crossed the finish line in 21st place. But maybe I'll start at the front first. Yesterday, the day before the race, I tried to isolate myself a bit and didn't read any news. I didn't want to drive myself crazy - and I wasn't actually very excited. Well, unless someone asked me about it, then I did get a bit nervous. Instead of reading the news from home, I listened to an audio book and did crossword puzzles. The last track training session went well, I went into the race feeling confident and all my concentration was focussed on the track.
I was fully focussed at the start and no more nervous than at a World Cup. The start itself went really well. Starting from the second row, I was able to hold my position well. Unfortunately, I had to dismount briefly at one point on the start lap, which was stupid, but definitely my fault. There were three of us riding through a narrow passage, so it was clear that it was going to be tight. Overall, however, I didn't put too much stress on myself in the first two laps, the pace wasn't that high and the group was relatively close together. I was able to concentrate well on the technically demanding descents and found my rhythm.
Unfortunately, I made a mistake on one of the many short and very steep climbs on the third lap, which is not tolerated on the slippery, dry stone surface. I touched the rear wheel of a rider in front of me with my front wheel, had to dismount and run about ten metres. At that point I was in about 14th place and lost four places straight away. Van der Poel also passed me. After his crash on a big drop, he came from behind with a lot of pressure on the pedals and overtook me and the three riders in front of me just as I was getting back on my bike. He rode with a knife between his teeth and overtook the guys in a place where overtaking is actually not possible. Van der Poel's crash must have looked pretty bad on TV. At that point you jump off without seeing where you land. But I'm surprised that van der Poel didn't know that the wooden ramp had been dismantled. It had already been dismantled during the official training yesterday and this change was also communicated to the national coaches.
After the Dutchman passed our group, the front two from our group followed and the group broke up. I couldn't ride with them at that moment as I had only just got back on my bike from the slide on the climb and I didn't have the speed. For the next three laps, I was mainly on my own. I noticed that the gaps to the front and rear remained relatively the same. I only spotted Gerhard Kerschbaumer in front of me a few times. I was on the limit on the last climb and as I thought Kerschbaumer was out of reach, I didn't go all-in there. Something that annoys me a little in hindsight, because 500 metres before the finish I saw that Kerschbaumer was going slowly. I sprinted off with all my might, but my start came a little too late and it was just not enough for 20th place. The sprint at the end was so hard that I got cramps - not only in my legs, but also in my hands and even in my neck. This was certainly due to the steep climbs, where you really had to work with your whole body and concentrate a lot on the loose ground. I was surprised that there wasn't much going on at the finish. I sat down on a chair in our Germany container and stayed there for 20 minutes without moving - that's how exhausted I was. Mani Fumic and I then rolled into our accommodation together and chatted for a while, which was a nice feeling. But when we arrived in the Olympic Village, we had to pack first, because the track riders were arriving and I moved out of my single room into Mani Fumic's flat together with the national coach and physiotherapist. Then it was finally time for dinner - once again we had rice and I treated myself to a beer with our team.
To say I was satisfied is perhaps an exaggeration. I would have liked to have finished a few places higher up the field. Nevertheless, I'm pleased that I didn't make any mistakes, especially on the downhill, and that I coped well with the really demanding course and my race organisation. And I'm happy for my team-mate from the Lexware Mountainbike Team, Martin Vidaurre, who finished 16th. But there will be no big celebrations today, the corona regulations will continue to be observed and the women's race is also scheduled for tomorrow morning. And on Wednesday we'll be getting on the plane back to Germany early in the morning. I will certainly need a few more days to properly interpret the journey and the race and draw conclusions from it. My first Olympic experience was certainly different to what you would imagine. But I'm still very happy that I was able to take part and I've learnt a lot on my journey towards Paris 2024."
The women's Olympic race in Tokyo will take place on 27 July at 15:00 local time and 8:00 German time and will be broadcast by the ARD via livestream transferred.
