The call from the side of the track hits like a Mike Tyson left: "One minute behind Hermann!" Moritz Milatz looks at his speedometer in disbelief. The bike ace has already lost a minute to Hermann Pernsteiner in the Alpentour Trophy mountain time trial. That's like Germany leading France 6:1 in the football World Cup final. And the Austrian Pernsteiner hasn't even crossed the finish line yet. He spins the crank round the axle with swift pedalling. 330 watts, his bike computer reports. Pernsteiner is panting, sucking air into his lungs. Another 100 metres in altitude. The Austrian squeezes watts from his muscle fibres like others squeeze juice from an overripe orange. His legs are burning, his lungs are whistling like bellows. There are many strong marathon riders - but when it really gets down to business on the mountain, Pernsteiner is the measure of all things. He tears up metres in altitude as if they were air and turns even the steepest climbs into small hills.
One more cadence. Just a few more metres to the finish. He sprints, hanging low over the handlebars. The muscle fibres press against the skin of his calves as if they want to jump out. 100, 50, ten metres. Then he races under the finishing arch. He slumps down and wipes the spit from the corner of his mouth. Over two minutes ahead of Milatz, won. But he is far from smiling. No more juice. Everything squeezed out!
Weeks later, we meet the 26-year-old south of Vienna. A broad grin adorns his emaciated face. The sun is peeking through the window of his kitchen. The biker from Team Centurion Vaude is shovelling muesli down his throat and squeezing an egg after it. In three hours, the strongest biker on the mountain by far wants to get his legs moving to boost his recovery after the Tour of Austria, which has just come to an end.
The Austrian's path to becoming a professional began soberingly. He rode his first race in 2001 and finished in penultimate place. It was the school race in his home town of Kirchschlag. But from this point onwards, the now 26-year-old began to train hard, which led to his breakthrough in 2016: winning the BIKE Transalp together with his team partner Daniel put him in the spotlight of the marathon scene. "It was a dream come true for me; we had both already won a stage the previous year, but winning the entire tour was something special." Pernsteiner then started his march through, winning the Trans Schwarzwald in 2016 and coming out on top in the Riva Marathon in 2017.
Pernsteiner clicks in, starts his bike computer and sets off. Today, the Austrian cycles for two hours through his home country, completely flat.
"During the season, I race almost continuously from the end of May to the end of August. I only use the time in between to recover. I also try to get myself in shape by racing. That means I don't arrive at the first race in top form." The sports scientist knows exactly how his success comes about. With his trainer Simon Dieter, he has found the perfect mix of cycling and strength training over the years. So perfect that he can cycle up to 1600 metres in altitude per hour. For comparison: very fit hobby cyclists manage 1000 to 1200, strong cyclists manage 1400. Pernsteiner makes sure that he rides as much of the base as possible over the winter. From November to March, he puts in an extremely high number of kilometres so that he has enough substance for the long racing season. For strength training, he focusses on hypertrophy (muscle growth) for the first six to eight weeks and later on maximum strength training. To do this, he goes to the gym twice a week, although he lifts less iron during the current season.
Hermann pours some water over his head, the sun is burning down from the sky, 30 degrees. He sweats, takes a sip from the bottle and shoves a piece of dried fruit into his mouth. For Pernsteiner, the right food and perfect weight determine success. He weighs 54 kilos when he is in top form. This makes him ten to sometimes 20 kilos lighter than his competitors. However, the climbing artist is not on a slimming diet.
"I'm not the tallest, and at 1.68 metres, 54 kilos isn't a lot. But it's not dramatically low either."
How he achieves his weight is very simple: he increases his training volume and eats fewer carbohydrates. "That works very well for me, but you should avoid doing intensive sessions during this phase as much as possible." The reason: as the workload increases, so does the proportion of energy provided by carbohydrates. If you don't supply your body with the necessary nutrients, you won't achieve the desired stimulus in your muscles and will slow down your regeneration. This is a no-go for professional cyclists, as a high training stimulus density determines how quickly and to what extent form is improved. Pernsteiner leans his bike against the wall of the house. The two hours are up.
"The form is good," he grins. You can literally see his anticipation for the next ramp.
THE TRAINING RECIPE
Hermann Pernsteiner wrote his bachelor's thesis on block training and uses some of it himself. Training is broken down in terms of time and content. In endurance sports, for example, this means that there are clear training blocks with basic, development and competition training. The aim is to maximise potential in the individual performance areas. This approach concentrates on one training stimulus instead of tackling several training stimuli at the same time. The combination of the individual skills should result in an even better overall performance.
PERNSTEINER'S SECRETS
How do you become a mountain goat or even the most outstanding climber on the scene? Hermann Pernsteiner reveals his best tips on training, tactics and nutrition.
1. strength training
Strength exercises without a bike are an elementary part of Hermann Pernsteiner's training. He uses the winter to get used to the weights and focuses on muscle growth (3x12-15 repetitions, twice a week). In the spring, he uses the last bit of power and switches to maximum strength training (5x3 repetitions, once or twice a week). He uses squats, deadlifts, step-ups, bench presses and pull-ups as exercises.
2. stable foundation
Pernsteiner rides extremely high volumes in winter and spring (November to February/March). Due to the high racing load during the season (a race almost every week from May to the end of August), he needs the substance to remain stable. He slowly approaches the duration and takes a rest week every third or fourth week (reduced volume of 40-50 per cent). It is not until March that he starts to stimulate himself with more intensive training rides.
3. the optimum weight
The biker's biggest enemy is downhill force. Therefore, the lighter an athlete is, the better he climbs and the lower his energy consumption. In order for Hermann to reach his 54 kilos, he increases his training volume around three to four weeks before an important competition and reduces his carbohydrates somewhat. One week before the competition, Pernsteiner begins to replenish his stores by increasing his carbohydrate intake.
4. simulated power
In order to get used to the stress of racing on long climbs, he simulates the strain of the climb. To do this, he works intensively for a fortnight in and just below the threshold range (the power he can produce for one hour). "I usually ride at 90 per cent of my threshold power for 15 to 30 minutes - about two to three times," says the Austrian, adding that he does this about three times a week. Afterwards, he allows his body a recovery phase of one week without hard intervals.
5. constancy
"On the mountain, you are alone with yourself and your performance, so you should listen to your body," explains Pernsteiner, adding that he races uphill in a controlled manner according to watts. If you know your exact performance limit, you can manage your power much better. To do this, Pernsteiner uses a power meter to precisely measure the values. "When I won in Riva, I didn't let myself get rattled and let the others go first."
6. the right gear
Long hills - high cadence. You should memorise this mantra as it will help you to save energy. The trick is: the higher the frequency, the lower the torque. This protects muscle fibres - particularly important in stage races. The optimum frequency is 95 revolutions per minute. It is best to test the right gear ratio during training.
7. mental toughness
Sports psychology says something like this: If you think about how painful the mountain will be, you can let it go. For this reason, Pernsteiner does not allow any negative thoughts and sets himself mini goals. "I look at my altimeter and always know how much I've already done. I also mentally shimmy up the mountain. I tell myself: to the bend, to the tree, and so on."
8. energy
If you want to get up the mountain quickly, you need a quick and constant supply of energy. Hermann reaches for gels and carbohydrate drinks. During road races, which also have calm phases, he also likes to eat something solid. He advises that every product should be tried out, especially in the relevant quantities. Pernsteiner consumes 80 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour. "You have to get yourself and your stomach used to that."
INFO HERMANN PERNSTEINER
Age: 26
Size168 cm
Drives since: 2001
Successes:
- Sixth place overall (best Austrian) at the International Tour of Austria 2016
- Victory BIKE-Transalp 2016
- Championship title 2016 Austrian Mountain Championship
- Winner Trans Black Forest 2016
- Winner of the Riva Marathon 2017
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