The test of courage measures 1.50 metres and smells of primary school sweat. Daniel Federspiel stands three metres away from it. He rubs his hands together, does two squat jumps on the spot and takes a deep breath. 1.50 metres, that's just 23 centimetres less than his own height. He leans his upper body back, then runs off - straight towards the box. He focusses on the worn leather, jumps and takes off. Airtime!, basketball presenters would shout enthusiastically. All Federspiel can hear is the banging of the box as he lands. That's it! The two-time world sprint champion perches on the wooden box like a skier in shooting position.
Twice world champion, once world championship silver and once bronze, plus overall World Cup winner: Daniel Federspiel's career is the most successful in mountain bike eliminator (XCE). Whenever the sprinter is at the start, he ends up on the podium - usually at the top. There were years when he didn't lose a single race. Alongside his talent, Federspiel's quest for perfection is the main reason for his success. The 29-year-old fits his training so skilfully into his everyday life that he can still work alongside his sport. 30 hours a week.
"You have to be honest: Even as an XCE world champion, there are no millions," laughs Federspiel, pulling on his work trousers. "I'm a trained carpenter and look after two schools as a caretaker. But I'm going to make some changes for the new season and shift my focus."
And this is what Federspiel does during his lunch break: the Austrian has his sights set on the 2020 Olympic Games - not the Eliminator discipline, as that is not Olympic, but Cross Country. Federspiel tortures himself with tough intervals. He still has two to go: three minutes at full throttle are on the programme. "I'm pushing out something over 550 watts - but in a controlled manner," Federspiel shouts and rolls over the trail. "Cross country is much longer than eliminator. I have to build up less lactate so that I don't explode after 20 minutes. That's my big task," explains the Austrian and sets off on the next interval.
He presses the pedals, the computer shows 600 watts. Federspiel feels good for the first 90 seconds, but then his muscles start to burn. 120 seconds: Federspiel stares at the display, his face contorts. The wattage drops. Another 30 seconds. His legs would scream if they could. Daniel gasps his way through the seconds: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. He rolls out. "That hurts so much," he yelps, "but at least I don't throw up like I do on shorter sessions. These intervals here aren't hard enough for that."
550 watts, not hard enough? For mere mortals, these figures seem like something out of a fable, but for Federspiel they are nothing special. The 29-year-old reaches peak values of over 2500 watts in a sprint. Over a period of five minutes, he easily pushes away more than 500 watts. The Austrian is in no way inferior to the best track sprinters in the world - but he is in cross country. "When I ride the first lap in the World Cup, I sometimes think - they're not going fast - but then the hammer comes down a little later and I get the parking ticket."
Now it's the hammer's turn, straight after the lunch break: Federspiel has to repair a broken door. He levered around the frames and knocked them into shape. "To be honest, I like the work. It takes your mind off things. I love building or repairing things with my hands," explains Federspiel, adding that 30 hours of work is doable for an Eliminator rider. But when it comes to Tokyo, he has to cut back. Standing around is not particularly conducive to training and recovery.
A few days later in the gym: the test of courage weighs 205 kilos. Federspiel dips his hands in lime. He has never lifted such a weight before. He stands under the barbell and presses the iron into his neck. His head turns red. Federspiel squats down, 205 kilos on his back. He pushes himself up again, his face red as a sheet. His knees tremble, Federspiel stares at the wall. When the barbell finally falls back onto the rack with a metallic clang, Federspiel slumps down exhausted. He lies down on the floor, closes his eyes and whispers to himself: "Done it."
THE TRAINING RECIPE
Plyometric training or jump training was developed in the Soviet Union. The training is based on the theory of reactive strength training - a form of speed strength. This involves stretching before the muscles contract again. This process is also known as the stretch-shortening cycle (STC). The faster and stronger the stretching phase, the more strength can be developed when contracting - this is what makes this training so effective. For a long time, it was regarded as the miracle training of the "Eastern Bloc". It involves extreme forces that are several times your body weight. Plyometric training for the legs is only recommended when you can lift 1.5 times your own body weight in a squat.
DANIEL FEDERSPIEL'S SECRETS
Fast as lightning: Daniel Federspiel reveals how he became the fastest biker in the world. With these tips, even amateur riders can fire up the turbo in no time at all.
1. short and crisp
Federspiel's bike training is short and peppered with intervals. He rarely spends more than two hours on his bike. This allows him to harmonise his training with his job. Incidentally, his training has a huge transfer to the long distance. Federspiel came tenth in the BIKE Transalp in 2016.
2. delicious food
Daniel Federspiel eats normally, as he himself claims. He doesn't impose any restrictions on himself and treats himself to schnitzel with chips about twice a month. "I once tried to give up sugar and other things completely for a year. I was always depressed and had no energy left. You need the sins in order to be able to train hard again," he says.
3. strength training
Federspiel is in the gym three times a week, lifting iron. He spends about half of his training on the dumbbells. This is roughly the same workload as world-class track sprinters. The two-time world champion focusses on increasing his maximum strength (the weight he can lift once). Classic exercises include deadlifts, squats (one and two-legged) and bent-over rowing.
4. use the off-season
In winter, Federspiel leaves his bike and grabs a cross bike or his touring skis. The trained carpenter rides cyclocross races in winter and took second place at the last Austrian championships. "Cyclocross trains your riding technique extremely well, as the tyres are much less forgiving. I also think it's important to do something different, but still maintain your competitive toughness."
5. the right timing
One week before a competition, Federspiel takes himself completely out of training. The Austrian does cycle every day during this time, but only very relaxed and no longer than 60 minutes. Only on the day before the competition does the world champion rev up his turbo: with a two-minute interval in which he gives it his all. On the day of the competition, he doesn't eat anything for four hours before the race.
6. observe recovery
Strength and sprint training may be short, but they are very demanding on the body. For this reason, Federspiel pays meticulous attention to his recovery. "40 minutes of sprint training can knock you out completely - for days on end. You have to pay attention to your body's signals, otherwise you're more likely to regress than make progress. On days without hard training, I only cycle very lightly."
7. go for a run
Anyone like Daniel Federspiel who has little time for endurance training can take advantage of the "running shortcut". The 29-year-old laces up his jogging shoes around two to three times a week and uses mountain runs in particular to get in shape. However, Federspiel does not run for longer than 60 minutes.
INFO DANIEL FEDERSPIEL
Age 29
Size 173 cm
Weight 73 kg
has been travelling since 2002
Successes:
- XCE World Champion 2015 and 2016
- XCE European Champion 2014 and 2013
- XCE World Cup overall winner 2013
- XCE Vice World Champion 2013
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