Interview with Johannes Fischbach: "Fischi": Harder than anything I've ever done before

It's almost like being in the vastness of Siberia or Canada. A straight road runs from Rehau near Hof in Upper Franconia towards the Czech border. The ribbon of tarmac cuts through dense forests. Only occasionally does a vehicle come along. A few hundred metres before the border, there is a farm on a hill. The piercing rattle of a brush cutter shatters the idyllic silence of the early summer's day. After training camps and the first two World Cup races of the season, Johannes Fischbach is finally back home for a few days. "Fischi", as the bike scene calls him, is currently clearing the BMX and motocross track between his house and the forest. It is overgrown with grass and nettles. The property is instantly reminiscent of mountain bike icon John Tomac's farm. "Welcome to the end of the world!" says Fischbach, switching off the engine of the scythe. "Wow, sometimes I walk around like a farmer," he says, half embarrassed, half apologetic, looking down at his old jogging trousers, "but that's just me!" Anyone who knows him a little will appreciate that. "Fischi" - a nice guy, straightforward, helpful, down-to-earth.

EMTB: Pretty idyllic here ...

Fischbach: I don't always need company. When I come home after the races, I like to be alone and have time for myself. This is my base and my haven of peace for the summer. In winter, I spend most of my time in Ibiza. It's simply much better for training there. I met my wife Nadja there. We have a flat on the island.

Sounds like a bon vivant.

No, that's not how I see myself. That sounds too much like a hippie to me. That's not me. I have both feet firmly on the ground and know what I have to do. I've worked hard for everything I've achieved. I make a plan and I work towards it with focus and fun.

Fischi puts the scythe away. A tattoo catches his eye. It covers his entire right forearm.

Who is the couple in the tattoo?

This is a picture of my parents at their wedding.

Do you have a close relationship with them?

I would describe it as normal. I'm not super close with them, they're just good people. I just like that image. My parents always supported me as much as possible when it came to bike racing. But there were no big jumps. My father worked as an industrial mechanic, my mother as a cleaner. They are now retired. At the start of my career, it wasn't possible to cover 1000 kilometres every weekend to compete in international races. That's why I did an apprenticeship before I turned professional.

Wow, sometimes I walk around like a farmer. - Johannes Fischbach on being down-to-earth and working on his farm

In the courtyard between the barn, workshop and house, Fischi's three-year-old son Mark comes whizzing round the corner on his kids' bike. Fischi junior seems just as keen on biking as his dad.

Are you a family person?

Mei ... there's simply not much time for the family during the season, even if there are only seven or eight World Cup races. Most of it happens around that: training camps, development work, representation appointments ... Nadja and Mark are flying to Ibiza next month, so I won't have a chance to see them for four weeks. Sometimes that makes me a little sad. But that's what professional sport entails. But you want to have your son with you when he grows up. Fortunately, it evens out again in winter. We have a lot of time together from October to December.

"Would you like a coffee?" asks Fischi - "Gladly!" Fischi starts up the portafilter machine in the open-plan, light-flooded kitchen and tells us:

Even after 15 years as a professional cyclist, none of this comes naturally to me. Renovating the house was a huge project. A lot of work went into it. We did most of it ourselves with my father and a few mates - from the walls to the roof. You're never really finished. I don't know what it's like to sit quietly on the couch. I'm either training, doing something around the house or looking after Mark. Maybe a beer in the evening, then I fall into bed dead tired. When Nadja and Mark are away next week, there's only one thing left to do: training, racing, staying focussed.

Johannes Fischbach: To be honest, as a downhiller I smiled at the enduro riders for a long time.

There is no bike discipline that Johannes Fischbach has not tried out with success. As a schoolboy, he was runner-up in the German cross-country championship. Because international races were not financially feasible, he ended his guest appearance in the endurance discipline at the age of 15. But he soon caused an international sensation with podium finishes in the MTB Four-Cross. When the UCI discontinued the race format, Fischbach switched to the downhill camp and became multiple German champion. With a 6th place at the E-Enduro World Cup in Leogang, he has also arrived at the top of the world with the E-MTB.

How did you come to ride E-Enduro races?

In 2021, I rode downhill races for the R Raymon brand. At the time, the brand was still part of the Pierer Group, as was the Spanish motorbike manufacturer Gasgas. Gasgas decided to get into the e-bike business and set up a World Cup team. When I got the offer, I didn't have to think twice. After all, I had already regularly used e-mountainbikes for training.

How did you get started?

To be honest, as a downhill rider, I smiled at enduro riders for a long time. Downhill is the Formula 1 of mountain biking. But my first e-enduro race opened my eyes to just how tough e-enduro races are. After six hours and 3000 metres of climbing, I had endless cramps. I was completely exhausted physically and mentally.

What do you need as a driver to achieve top placings?

Everything. You need the riding technique skills of a downhiller, a lot of agility, but also the endurance of an XC rider on intermediate climbs. You need an enormous amount of basic stamina so that you don't fall into a hole during the long race.

What is the hardest nut for you to crack?

Riding at a consistently high level for the entire six hours. Two good stages are of little use if you lose concentration on the next one and crash. On the transfers, you can't just ride up in turbo mode because otherwise the battery won't last. You have to ride in eco mode and pedal flat out. The intermediate stages are not a recovery. If you make a mistake with your battery management, you'll end up with an empty battery and won't make the start times. The power stages are another challenge. They are 90 per cent uphill. They are often extremely steep, with tight bends where you have to shift the rear wheel on the uphill. The descents are also really long. In Finale Ligure, one of the downhill stages lasted 14 minutes.

You have already achieved top 3 results on some stages in the World Cup. What do you need to work on to achieve such results?

I now always train complete descents, no more sections. That's important so that I don't make any mistakes even when I'm exhausted. The speed is right. I know I can keep up with the top 3 in the world. I'm still working on my consistency with high volumes.

Sometimes I can barely get the last stage together in my head. It's complete physical and mental exhaustion. - Johannes Fischbach on the length of World Cup Enduro races

Do you have your own trainer?

I've been my own coach for ten years. Over the course of my racing career, I have had many coaches in all disciplines. I have always questioned and analysed my own training. I have now understood the effects of different training methods. E-Enduro is still a very young discipline. There are no specialised trainers yet. That's why I try out a lot of things myself.

Can you give us a little insight into your training plans?

As preparation during the off-season, I do a lot of basic endurance and strength training. I also incorporate technique training twice a week. Towards the start of the season, I focus more on explosiveness, speed, time trials and sprints.

Do you train with your team-mates?

No, I only see my colleagues Alex Marin (Spain) and Alexandre Fayolle (France) at races or training camps. I like to do the basic training with friends, but when it gets specific and tough, I'm usually alone. No normal biker wants to do that. It's painful as hell. You're completely through it afterwards.

Boxes full of puncture protection inlays for bike tyres are piling up in Fischi's workshop. Fischbach developed the Tyre Trooper puncture protection system himself and is also actively involved in the development of his sponsor Gasgas' e-bikes and in wheel and component development at Syntace.

How did you come up with the idea for Tire Trooper?

I've always been a tinkerer. That's part of downhill racing. Everything is done to tickle a tenth of a second out of the bike. I really enjoy that. With the Tire Trooper, I made a virtue out of necessity. I was annoyed because I kept missing out on top placings in the World Cup and World Championships because of flat tyres. So I started to think about it. In the meantime, I have developed the anti-flat inlay for the tyres, improved the material and will soon be starting with a new launch. I've been riding with it for a year and haven't had a puncture, no punctures and no rim damage since then.

How do you contribute your expertise as an athlete to Gasgas? For a long time, athletes were more like marketing aids for the manufacturers. The bikes were developed on the computer.

Fortunately, that has changed. Of course, engineers and computers still play a decisive role in design. But the manufacturers now listen to us drivers more attentively. It's a trusting collaboration at eye level. In my opinion, designing a really good bike on the computer alone doesn't work. You need feedback from the rider on the kinematic variables. Sometimes the practical experience doesn't seem to make sense compared to the computer simulations. Nevertheless, appropriate changes often work.

What is the focus of the current drive development of E-MTBs?

Most development measures are aimed at further optimising the interaction between man and machine. Rider and drivetrain increasingly function as a harmonious unit - as with the Sram Eagle Powertrain with automatic Autoshift gearshift. In addition, the possibilities of bike geometry and kinematics have not yet been exhausted. Every centimetre that the battery sits lower and closer to the bike's centre of gravity makes a huge difference.

If you seriously want to be at the front, it's not a question of if something will happen, but when and how bad.

As often happens on this day, Fischi's son Mark bursts into the interview. He circles the garden table on his electric balance bike. Who would want to be angry with the little one? So off we go for a family ride in the woods outside the front door. Mark dashes through the grass on the overgrown trail next to Fischi, pulling up the handlebars on small bumps. As a mum, Nadja watches this with pride. At the same time, she hopes that her son will decide in favour of a less injury-prone sport one day: "I think I'll have a heart attack otherwise ... one crazy kid in the family is enough," she says with a wink, looking at Fischi.

Fischi, as a gravity racer, injuries have repeatedly thrown you off the straight and narrow track of your career. Most recently at the City Downhill in Valparaíso in Chile. Instead of finishing on the podium, you ended up in hospital.

I rolled over and hit my head on the ground head-on. I felt the nerves in my legs tingling when I hit the ground. Fortunately, after a check-up at the hospital, the all-clear was given. The fact is that if you seriously want to be at the front, it's not a question of if something will happen, but when and how bad. Anyone who thinks they can get through an enduro or downhill career without injury is mistaken.

You sometimes go for it. For example, in 2019 when you attempted the world record in the bike long jump on the ski jump in Klingenthal.

It excites me to do things that others don't dare to do. Overcoming my fears and doubts - that's a really good feeling. I don't do it for my ego. It's just the thrill.

Is it worth it?

I have travelled a lot through sport. I got to know a world that might otherwise have remained closed to me.

What has "Farmer Fischi" experienced in the big wide world?

The farmer has learnt a lot and broadened his horizons. I make sure to immerse myself in real life in foreign countries. I don't just want to stay in nice hotels. That's how I find out again and again how helpful people are around the world. I try to pass that on myself. Many people are worse off than we are in Germany. We should complain less.

Where do you see yourself on this planet in 10, 20 or 30 years?

Certainly no longer on a race bike, but hopefully still in the bike industry for a while. And at some point, the centre of my life will probably no longer be here in Rehau. I've always wanted a farm in a secluded location, but I'm not locally bound. I know that there are many places with a better quality of life. In the long term, my life compass will lead me to the south-west.

I got to know a world that might otherwise have remained closed to me. - Johannes Fischbach on travelling in racing

Honest skin - What Fischi says about Fischi

Honest skin; not someone who pretends; helpful; nice guy; don't like to show off; like to be alone sometimes; fun is important to me

Hobbies

• Motocross, follow the news and watch documentaries

Successes

• 5 x German Four-Cross MTB Champion;
• 3 x German MTB Downhill Champion;
• 4 podium places in the Four-Cross World Cup;
• 5 top 10 finishes in the Four-Cross MTB World Championships;
• Victories in the City Downhill World Tour
• 6th place E-Enduro World Cup Leogang 2024

Sponsors

• Gas gas
• Syntace
• Maxxis

Place of residence

• Rehau/Upper Franconia, Ibiza

Instagram

• @johannesfischbach88

Youtube

• @johannesfischbach2030
• 14,200 subscribers, 165 videos