Torben Drach has had his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in his pocket for two years. He could actually be working as an engineer in the development department of a bike manufacturer by now. But before the mills of the professional world grind down his fitness, he wants to give it another go. "There's more in it," says the 26-year-old.
If I concentrate fully on the sport, I can achieve even more.
More than the German Enduro Championship title. He won it last summer - on an organic bike. Now he's switching to an e-MTB.
Torben has just received the bikes from his new sponsor for the start of the World Cup season. Before he sets off on his first training ride, Torben puts on new tyres. The bike stand for fitting the tyres is not in the workshop of a powerful monster race truck with a sun deck and espresso bar. Torben is working outside the front door of a multi-storey apartment building in the centre of Karlsruhe. An engine roars in the background. A delivery van door slams shut. The muffled sound of the city penetrates the side street. "Metzgerei Nägele" is written on the neon sign on the tiled wall. The butcher's shop has long since closed. The cream-coloured shutters of the shop are still closed at midday. Because it's too cramped upstairs in the shared flat and because scuffs and chain smears don't look so good on the parquet flooring, Torben usually works outside or in the stairwell.
The sporting CV of mountain biker Torben Drach
After racing XC in his youth, Torben Drach discovered the gravity disciplines. From this season, the Freiburg native and reigning German Enduro champion will be competing in the E-EDR series, the Enduro World Cup for E-MTBs.
- Age 26
- Place of residence Karlsruhe
- Education Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering
- Team Rotwild Schwalbe Gravity Team
- Sponsors Rotwild, Schwalbe, Shimano, Ergon, Topeak, Crankbrothers, Maloja
Successes
- German Enduro Champion 2023
- 32nd place overall in the UCI Enduro World Cup 2023
- 4th place Trophy Of Nations Enduro Team World Championship 2022
- 2 x 1st place Maxiavalanche 2022
- 5th place Megavalanche 2021
Goals
- Top 5 placing in the UCI E-Enduro World Cup
- Title defence German Championship
- Podium at the Megavalanche
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"Of course it can be done more professionally," says Torben. But in his 26 years of life, he has also learnt to prioritise. He plans his career steps like a major engineering project - step by step and carefully considered. The framework outline for his E-Enduro career envisages that he will first create the conditions to be able to concentrate 100 per cent on training and competitions. "Attending lectures and cramming for exams between competitions and during training phases doesn't work," he realised. That's why he has put his postgraduate Master's programme on hold. "I don't want to do things by halves," he says. "The competition never sleeps. I can only be successful if I concentrate 100 per cent on racing." As a technician, Torben is a tough realist. And as such, he has recognised this after two decades in racing: A passion for bikes and diligent training alone do not necessarily lead to success. In order to create the conditions for top placings, he is no longer just a racer, but also co-owner of his own E-MTB racing team. His most important partner in crime: former XC national squad rider David Horvath. The two founded their first racing team four years ago. A turning point in their biking careers, where the story begins to become almost unbelievable. Incredibly moving. Incredibly human. Incredibly dramatic.
Torben and David have known each other forever. As teenagers and juniors, the two raced successfully in XC races as part of Team Lexware. At some point, they both ran out of steam in the endurance discipline. They compete in enduro and downhill races. Just for fun. Until ambition tickled them. In 2020, they founded the Gravity Team. The money they receive from their sponsors is just enough to spend a few weeks travelling from race to race in a camper van. Then it happens during training for the Downhill World Cup in Val di Sole: a "stupid fall" - David can no longer feel his legs. He has been in a wheelchair ever since.
"Quitting was never an option," says David as a matter of course at the team meeting with Torben.
"Friends, family, girlfriend - at the end of the day, it's the environment that determines what we can achieve together." An integral part of the human support that David can rely on is Torben. "Immediately after the accident, he signalled that we would find ways to cycle together again." David has long been back on the trails himself - with an Adaptiv mountain bike, a downhill trike with an electric motor. But that's just a tiny, fun part of the pair's gravity project. "The fatal crash was a tough test for our friendship, but it lasted," summarises David. Ultimately, the stroke of fate gave the Gravity team a new direction. "From a gimmick to serious business," David clarifies. In other words: over the past few months, the two have managed to put their racing team on a new, stable footing. With Rotwild and Schwalbe as sponsors, the Irishman Kelan Grant and the German Enduro vice-champion Helen Weber as additional riders in the team. Until now, David has been team manager, but his job in "civilian" life as assistant to the management of a medium-sized stock corporation leaves too little time to fulfil the professionalism he himself propagates. So the two of them hired Lukas Spießl as the new team manager and founded a limited company with him.
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You can only imagine how much work is involved in starting a race team as a freelance driver: Notary appointments, shareholder agreements, discussions with the bank, plus extensive research and tests for the choice of equipment. Not to mention the sporting preparation. Neither Torben nor David are fans of big words when it comes to their own actions. "What counts is that we've managed to finance the racing season - with all the expenses, training camps, my living expenses, the team manager's salary and everything else that goes with it," says Torben, summarising the past few months. Anyone familiar with the racing scene knows that a World Cup season for a racing team is hardly possible without a mid-six-figure sum.
Torben isn't the kind of ramp jockey who gets sponsors flying at him. "We're an atypical team," David reflects. "Authentic. Professional. Structured." Torben's calm, sober manner may not necessarily be what the scene expects from a star. But: "Let's be honest," says David. "In the end, it's the results that count." And that's why the two of them plan their team as meticulously structured as Torben would design a bike frame as an engineer. Clear plans, clear ideas, sound preparation.
Success is one part. But for a team to run smoothly, the interpersonal vibes also have to be right. In David's eyes, that is the greatest value of the team:
We are not a team of lone warriors thrown together. We are real friends. And we want to keep it that way in the future.
Torben and David - two pretty good friends. They form the core of the Rotwild Schwalbe Gravity Team. "We're completely different in type," says David with a grin. "But we complement each other perfectly," adds Torben. "I sometimes slow myself down with my perfectionist traits or tense up," admits Torben. "David has a more relaxed and yet detached view of many things. There's always a solution for him when I'm struggling." - "The decisive factor is the boundless trust we have in each other," adds David. "Of course there are differences, we can sometimes fall out, but in the end it leads to good solutions because we trust each other." Will the power of friendship be enough to stand up to the big teams?
However, discussing things with each other helps the two of them not to lose sight of their priorities in the flood of tasks. Both are convinced that now is the right time to focus fully on e-racing. "Who knows," Torben ventures a look into the future, "maybe e-bike races will soon be the races in the Bike World Cup. Power stages make previously boring uphill sections exciting for spectators. Steep ramps and artificial obstacles that require trial skills will provide additional spice. We are nowhere near the end of development."
In Torben's eyes, the World Cup will also become even more of an innovation driver in E-MTB development in terms of material. Climbs and downhills place very different demands on the bikes. "Variable suspension could be one way of responding to this," Torben ponders. He also finds automatic gears interesting. "As a rider, you can concentrate more on the route and the obstacles." As a mechanical engineer, Torben is certain: "Much more is possible in the interaction between man and machine." When it comes to technical challenges, he feels that he is in good hands at the Rotwild innovation centre. He is currently testing a prototype that will soon go into series production and with which he will compete in the World Cup season.
David's easy-going attitude gives me power. There's always a solution for him when I'm struggling - Torben Drach on his team partner David Horvath
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Torben plans his training just as meticulously as he looks after his equipment and team appearance. "I don't just sit on the bike," he explains during a training session at Edelberg near Ettlingen. "My training consists of three big blocks. Block 1: Endurance and sprint training with high-intensity intervals. Block 2: Riding technique and skill. Block 3: Fitness training: core stability, good abdominal and back muscles and power in the arms are essential if you don't want to give up on long stages." Torben has been working with Scottish endurance specialist Jamie Read as a trainer for a year now. And Jamie has recently become the official team coach. Torben also works with riding technique expert Luca Morell. "The question of how I can master bends and obstacles the fastest and best is a never-ending topic. I can develop endlessly," says Torben. And he also knows that analytical and professional training is essential in order to establish himself among the world's best. That's why laps like the Strommasten Downhill near Karlsruhe are at best basic training for him. He will soon be heading back to the enduro mecca of Finale Ligure for his next training camp.
The days when gravity disciplines involved a lot of beer after training are definitely over, says Torben as he chops a mountain of vegetables in the shared kitchen after training.
"Nothing against a beer with friends, but to keep up with the best in the world, you have to give your body the energy it needs." Here, too, Torben's perfectionism comes through time and again. "Sometimes I sit at my laptop for two hours in the evening and work out whether I'm actually meeting my nutritional requirements," he admits with a grin. During performance tests, trainer Jamie creates metabolic profiles to determine how much carbohydrate, protein and minerals Torben needs.
Torben is aware that even the most meticulous preparation cannot guarantee success. Winning is also a matter of the mind. That's where David is an important support for him. "We had a difficult start with our team," David alludes to his fall. "But we've learnt to pull ourselves up from a low together again and again." - "A victory is not just my victory," Torben clarifies with a view to his title at the German Enduro Championships. "There is no 'me'. It's always a team effort." That's exactly what makes the races so much fun for him. And perhaps that is also a recipe for success. If Torben actually makes it onto the podium at international races in the next few years - it would be a Hollywood-worthy story of two pretty best friends. And if not? Good friends ... nobody can separate them.
E-Enduro World Cup
Six races, five countries. The E-Enduro World Series (E-EDR) offers a high-percentage cocktail of crisp downhill tracks and sometimes tricky uphill stages. In the first race of the season in Finale Ligure, Italy, Torben Drach finished in 21st place at the back of the midfield. Can he do better in the next races? If you want to follow Torben Drach in his most important races, you can do so at the following 2024 World Cup events (uci.org):
- 17-19 May Bielsko-Biala/PL
- 7-9 June Saalfelden Leogang/AUT
- 28 June-7 July Portes du Soleil (Region)/FRA
- 12-14 July Aletsch Arena/CH
- 6-8 September Loudenvielle-Peyragudes/FRA
