Trailrocking with MTB World Cup winner Luca Schwarzbauer and German champion Max Brandl on the last weekend of November on the edge of the Swabian Alb: The BIKE Junior Team got the special opportunity to ride together with the reigning World Cup winner in short track, Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO Team)and the German champion Max Brandl (Lexware MTB Team)to spend a training weekend.
The World Cup riders are also real stars for the young professionals
The team riders of the BIKE Junior Team were very excited and curious when team manager Bernd Sigel announced the event in advance: "Even for very successful riders in the youth category, such as Elias Hückmann, European Youth Champion U17, or Nico Brandl, Vice European Champion U15 last season, personal contact with professionals from the elite category is something very special. The youth competitions take place separately from the professional competitions.
Luca and Max came to the BIKE Junior Team straight from the Eurosport broadcast. The event started on Friday evening with a shared snack. This was followed by an excursion to team boss Bernd Sigel's organic bakery. While the bakery was in operation, the team learnt first-hand about nutrition, wholegrain products, high-quality food, metabolic processes in the body and the quality of real bread.
Training on Luca Schwarzbauer's home trails
On Saturday morning, Luca Schwarzbauer and Max Brandl rolled up to the meeting point and a challenging training lap on Luca's home trails was on the programme. It had snowed overnight, the Albkante was covered in snow and the roots and rocks were perfect for a rocky trail ride. In addition to technical skills, there were some sobering sprint duels, but of course there was no shortage of fun. After a good three hours, cleaning the bikes and a hot shower were more than necessary for the athletes.
In the evening, the two MTB pros took plenty of time for us. After a large pizza order, we had the opportunity to ask the two pros questions about MTB racing in a cosy atmosphere around the warm tiled stove.
Athletes Luca and Max shared their MTB secrets on topics such as training, nutrition, international racing and their experiences and adventures over the last few years - that's how you learn from the best.
The BIKE Junior Team says: Many thanks to Luca Schwarzbauer and Max Brandl for your time and this special opportunity for the next generation in racing.
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