Honour to whom honour is due: With this guiding principle in mind, we take a look at the people who will be shaping the bike industry in 2025. Innovators, visionaries, racers, community creators and silent heroines - they all contribute to keeping our scene alive, evolving and inspiring.
1 Henri Kiefer, 20 Vice world champion
The sour-pickle period for us Germans in the Downhill World Cup is finally over - thanks to Henri! At last we have a rider who is back at the top of the World Cup. The crowning glory: Henri won the silver medal at the World Championships in Champéry. Go, Henri!
2 Sonja Schreiter, 41 DIMB Specialist Officer
While we mountain bikers are happy about new, legal trails in Germany, Sonja is sitting at the table with state forestry and nature conservation, working her way through the maze of legal texts and tinkering with applications to legalise existing MTB trails. Let's be honest: fortunately, we don't have to do that. It's good that there are people like Sonja and her DIMB colleagues who do this important work for us. Our thanks go to Sonja, Heiko Mittelstädt and the entire team for their tireless efforts!
3 Markus Weinberg, 42 long-distance biker
After 47 days in the saddle and 7800 kilometres, Markus Weinberg reached the Cabo de São Vicente lighthouse, the south-western tip of the European mainland, in September. He started exactly seven weeks earlier in the small town of Grense Jakobselv in the far north-east. With his tour, the former professional cyclist and film-maker wanted to collect "positive stories from Europe", and he has succeeded in doing so in his blog.
4 Christian Textor, 34 Enduro World Cup racer
Christian "Texi" Textor is not only Germany's most successful enduro racer - he has established himself over the years in the EWS and later in the World Cup - but also a great guy in other respects. The six-time German Enduro champion acted as our celebrity tester for a number of tests and shared his impressions with us - and therefore with you too. After more than ten years as a professional athlete, he is now calling it a day. But Texi wants to stay in the industry, possibly in product development.
5 Tim Gemünden, entrepreneur in the Rhineland
Just like Sonja Schreiter and the DIMB team, Tim Gemünden also organised the opening of a trail park at the beginning of the year. The only difference: he is an entrepreneur and operator of a luxury hotel - and had a trail park built in his private forest that is accessible to everyone. When asked whether he had ever thought about fencing off the area, Gemünden said: "I don't spend years fighting for legal trails in the region and then put up a barrier myself!" A true man of honour.
6 Rosa Zierl, 16 DH junior racer
"Straight outta Austria". The 16-year-old is still competing in the juniors, but she will soon be competing with her compatriot Vali Höll in the elite. The Tyrolean from the Cube Factory Team showed what she's made of in 2025 in particular - and even managed to pull on the coveted rainbow jersey in Champéry. Strong!
7 Nino Schurter, 39 XCO-Goat (Greatest of all times)
After 20 years in the Cross-County World Cup, ten world championship titles, nine overall World Cup victories and three Olympic medals, it's time to call it a day. Despite his mega successes, Nino has remained down to earth and an integral part of the scene. Now Nino and his partner Malene Degn are focussing on their offspring for the time being.
8 Hubert Hager, 47 Young talent promoter
The Austrian has been committed to promoting young talent in Vienna and the surrounding area for more than five years. In 2025, he and his team organised the Kenda Trailbrunch at the Hohe Wand Wiese trail park in Vienna for the fifth time. At this event, kids and teenagers receive coaching from real pros - including Rampage participants Clemens Kaudela, Peter Kaiser and the Ruso brothers. You won't find a format like this anywhere else.
Laurin Lehner
Editor
