The one: Influencer, fourcross specialist and singletrail maniac. The other: Cycling icon, former cross-country rider and owner of eight world championship gold medals. Both live their passion for biking in completely different ways. When Steffi Marth and Hanka Kupfernagel met for the first time at the company party of a joint sponsor, they liked each other so much that they arranged to go on a bike week together that very evening.
The only big question was where to go. Steffi loves to challenge her reflexes on rough trails. Hanka, on the other hand, doesn't like too many thrills. She prefers the easy, fluffy destruction of kilometres and metres in altitude.
It was clear to Steffi that she wanted to take Hanka biking to La Palma. The Canary Island is her favourite area and the conditions for trail biking there are ideal. "We had agreed that I would choose the area. I knew that Hanka would have preferred to fly to Mallorca. So I wrote to her that I was going to La Palma and hoped that she would think that meant Palma de Mallorca," Steffi reveals her cunning plan. "That's right, I would have gone to Mallorca. We would have done a few nice laps on the road and I would have shown Steffi my favourite cafés," grins Hanka.
It was a kind of experiment. Does it work? Two female bikers who live the sport in contrasting ways. United for a week in a mountain bike paradise that places the highest demands on riding skills. One in her element. The other in a technical adventure land. It was an interesting experience for both of them. BIKE was there for the unusual blind date. Over a glass of after-work wine, Hanka and Steffi chatted about their lives, the influence of social media on sport, kittens and why biking is still a male domain.
The big double interview with Steffi Marth and Hanka Kupfernagel is in BIKE 5/2018. The exclusive video from the La Palma trip is available here:
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