Interview with German world-class slopestyler Tobey Miley: "Went home crying"

BIKE: Toby, you were the only German at the first Crankworx Slopestyle this year in Rotorua, New Zealand. How did that come about?

Toby Miley: Only one place in the world ranking separated me from being invited. So I was really happy to win a wildcard for Rotorua at the slopestyle in Christchurch.

Why didn't Erik Fedko start?

Erik broke his thigh a year ago. The injury has not yet fully healed so that he can go all out again in competition and take full risks.

Then you kept the German slopestyle flag flying high - very good! In your run, you jumped a Cork 720 in both directions of rotation. How difficult are the so-called "Oppo" tricks (Opposite)?

Everyone has a favourite side. If you do the tricks in the other direction, the tricks are much harder for you. But I find the Cork 720 equally difficult in both directions, so I'm lucky! That's why I like to incorporate the tricks into my runs - the judges rate it very highly if you do the Cork 720 in close succession in both directions

Does it feel like you have to write with your left hand?

With other Oppo tricks, yes. For example, with an Oppo tailwhip. But thankfully not with the Cork 720.

You ended up in 10th place - are you happy with that?

Top 10 in the world elite is always great. Of course I would have liked to have had a second run, but only the top 8 riders got a second run.

Is this a new format?

No. The weather had gone crazy and the live stream would otherwise have been too long, so we had to agree on this one-off arrangement. Basically, I was happy with my run because I didn't crash and didn't injure myself. But I also missed out a lot of things that I would have liked to show in my second run. Then a top five would have been possible, assuming I could have got it down without crashing.

After your run, Erik Fedko congratulated you. What is your relationship with Erik?

We're friends and actually grew up together. We only live an hour apart and have had a training ground together since last year - Marc Dieckmann, Erik and me.

Is such a training compound the prerequisite for riding slopestyle at the top level?

It helps enormously when you train together. In competition, we ride against each other, but basically we are a team. We support each other. So it's only the 30 seconds in the run where we compete against each other.

The level of trickery is crazy and even insiders can hardly judge it. How do you see it?

It's absurd how much the standard has risen in the last five years. It's getting more and more blatant. I already know the tricks that are being practised but have not yet been shown in public. It's unbelievable how the performance keeps going up.

And five years ago, people were already saying that we couldn't do much more.

More is possible. However, this also increases the risk of keeping up with the top 10 in the world. That's the price you have to pay for the increase.

How do you deal with the risk?

I accept it. It's part of the sport. If you want to finish at the front, you have to give it your all. That increases the risk of crashing. That could have happened to me in New Zealand too, then I would have ended up at the back.

Like Nicholi Rogatkin, who crashed in his run. How do you cope with the pressure?

I had to train for a long time to be able to deal with the pressure on race day. But now I manage to stay relaxed. I have decided that I want to have fun.

Nevertheless, everything is concentrated in just a few minutes.

That's right. Actually, the whole year, all the training, all your effort is focussed on five short moments in the year. That's when it has to kick in. I've already had competition days where I've gone home crying because I didn't want to go through all the tension anymore. But when it works out, the joy is all the greater.

Is there anyone who has special steel nerves?

Nicholi Rogatkin. He's been riding at the top of the world for 14 years now. The guy is deadly relaxed. But my group of four - Ben Thompson, Jake Atkinson, Kaidan Ingersoll and me - we're the youngest and we try to prioritise having fun. That keeps the pressure at bay, because the whole thing becomes a bit of a boyz trip, relaxed and fun.

What about the favourites David Godziek and Emil Johansson?

The two were injured, so Tim Bringer now had the big chance to finally win a Crankworx after many second places that he has collected.

What's your super trick right now?

My super trick is the doubleflip tuck no hander. Double flips look spectacular, but are very risky. It's very difficult to pack tricks into a combo. Every time I do a doubleflip tuck no hander I think: I'm going to die! Because the G-forces are so high that you can't believe it works.

Is there a trick that doesn't suit you at all?

Everything that has to do with front flips. When I was 15, I had a bad fall doing a front flip and I've had a block in my head ever since. But I also had that with double flips until I learnt them completely new and differently. Maybe I'll get back on the front flip trip at some point.

Are you a full-time athlete now?

I did an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic and then worked as a journeyman for a year. But I've been a full-time mountain biker since the beginning of 2024.

The results of the first Crankworx Slopestyle 2025

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