The strategy of the pros: How MTB athletes deal with their body weight
Those who weigh less carry less weight over the mountains. Sooner or later, professional athletes have to come to terms with their own body weight and personal nutrition strategy. World Cup athletes are confronted with their own bodies by virtue of their profession, so to speak. What's more, their bodies are constantly on display for all to see on social media. We wanted to find out what marathon and enduro pros think about being slim and asked them about their individual eating habits. Sofia Wiedenroth and Georg Egger also reveal their best tips for eating healthily as mountain bikers.
Sofia Wiedenroth: Losing weight until she breaks in the enduro
At the age of 29, Sofia Wiedenroth is already an experienced biker. She has been active in professional sport since 2003. Initially in cross country, currently with enduro and e-MTB. "Weight has always been an issue in cross country. In enduro, it's not quite as important," she explains. Sofia generally eats a relatively healthy diet and thinks carefully about what she eats without being too strict with herself. There are no bans, but "I'm not a snacker either". At the beginning of her professional career, she believed that less is better when it came to weight.
You get a lot of encouragement from the outside for having a slim body, especially as a woman in professional sport. But: I no longer felt comfortable with my body, had problems with my bone density and suffered a fatigue fracture. - Sofia Wiedenroth, professional biker
Sofia Wiedenroth now eats intuitively and is protein-orientated. Quark, muesli and fruit in the morning. At lunchtime, bread with avocado, eggs or salmon and grainy cream cheese. In the evening she has vegetables and salad with a source of protein. She avoids red meat completely and, especially during race preparation, also avoids refined sugar as far as possible. In everyday life, there is also hardly any pasta, rice or other carbohydrate bombs. She saves them until shortly before the competition so that "they work properly". When travelling to races, she sometimes takes vegetable sticks or a sandwich with her, but is also happy with a salad or sandwich from the airport bistro. Yes, her food should be healthy and nutritious, says Wiedenroth, but not too complicated either.
Profile Sofia Wiedenroth
- Age: 29 years
- Weight: between 52 kg (racing season) and 55 kg (off-season)
- Height: 1.61 m
- Team: Specialised Enduro Team
- Successes: including World Champion E-EMTB 2024, 2nd place overall World Cup E-XC (including 5 World Cup victories), 3rd place overall World Cup E-Enduro, 6 x German Champion (currently reigning twice)
Sofia Wiedenroth's nutrition tips
- Eat intuitively and rich in protein
- Lots of fruit and vegetables
- Treat yourself to something
- Do not eat when you are not hungry
- largely avoid meat (and if you do, then white meat)
- No ready-made products if possible
- In general, do not eat too quickly before the competition (3 hours before) and eat carbohydrate-rich food (e.g. rice, potatoes, couscous, bulgur). Also avoid fatty foods
Georg Egger: Better stress-free at the marathon
Georg Egger rode his first race at the age of 13 and has been infected with the bike virus ever since. He loves pushing his body to the limit, currently in professional MTB cross-country and marathon racing. As weight plays a major role, especially on the climbs, he does watch what he eats, but for him, well-being comes first. He believes: "Cramped weight loss usually results in a loss of performance." A trap he has already fallen into himself:
I used to be much tougher on myself and lighter - but also much more cerebral and not faster on the bike because I was losing strength. - Georg Egger, professional biker
Georg Egger eats a predominantly vegetarian diet and makes sure he consumes enough protein in the form of grainy cream cheese, quark or protein shakes when training intensively. During training phases, he also provides himself with a good supply of carbohydrates. However, there are no strict food taboos for him. Particularly in the off-season, he tends to eat according to the pleasure principle, but sometimes seeks professional help if he has questions or needs it. He would only starve himself and strictly track calories for short periods of a maximum of two weeks. In general, he says he is "not too fussy about his diet at the moment".
Profile Georg Egger
- Age: 29 years
- Weight: between 80 kg (racing season) and 84 kg (off-season)
- Height: 1,87 m
- Team: ORBEA x Leatt x Speed Company
- Successes: including third overall Andorra Epic 2024, 1st place XCO Zadov & Fullgazrace XCC Krumbach 2023, victory Mediterranean Epic 2022 & 2023, 2nd place Cape Epic 2023 and victory 2022
Georg Egger's nutrition tips
- eat well during training, especially with carbohydrates
- Eat what makes you happy (but not just chocolate)
- Ensure sufficient protein intake
- No long-term starvation
- No low carb for high training volumes or competitions
- Eat easily digestible carbohydrates (bread or rice) before the competition and don't stress too much
