Mountain biker Foidl

Wrenching for the Olympics in the neighbor’s basement

Over hill and dale to the Olympics: Max Foidl

(Bild: STARONPHOTO)

A man from Graz is going to the Olympic Games in Paris: why mountain biker Max Foidl has turned his back on Tyrol and prefers to do his laps in Styria, where his own bike cellar has long since become too small.

There is no direct flight from Graz to Paris. Max Foidl will therefore have to change flights when he flies to the Olympic Games this summer. The mountain biker's ticket is as good as secured.

Everything for the sport
"I haven't been officially nominated yet, but that should follow soon," explains the 28-year-old in an interview with "Krone". In which the native Tyrolean, who has lived in Graz since 2015, proves to be completely mad about bikes: "I used to even have my bikes in my living room," admits Foidl with a smile.

Mountain bike races take a massive toll on your strength

(Bild: STARONPHOTO)

"Today, my cellar is full of them. A neighbor kindly made some space for me in his cellar so that I have room to do a bit of wrenching."

Foidl is a tinkerer and likes to work on his equipment himself: "On a relaxed training day, I ride down a trail three or four times and then I know which setup works for me and which doesn't."

Like Formula 1 or MotoGP
Mountain biking is a highly professional sport in terms of technology and is only ridden on prototype bikes. Foidl only has to do his own work at home; at the World Cup races, he has a crew of technicians from KTM at his side: "It's a bit like a Formula 1 or MotoGP pit, albeit a bit smaller."

I wouldn't want to train anywhere else. I ride up the Schöckl or in the Semriach area almost every day.

Mountainbike-Ass Max Foidl

In Graz, he spends almost every day on his bike, around 20 hours a week. He doesn't want to leave Styria any time soon: "I don't want to train anywhere else. I ride up the Schöckl or in the Semriach area almost every day. You can always ride a different lap here and it never gets boring. And there's hardly any traffic on most of the roads."

Parisian dreams
Paris will be Foidl's second Olympic appearance after his debut in Tokyo (17th place). However, his form curve is clearly pointing upwards this year: "I'm now in the top 15 in the World Cup, which is a dream. I'm not a contender for victory and probably not a medal candidate. But now that things are finally going well in the World Cup, I also want to do well in Paris."  

He will have the chance to do so on July 29, when the Olympic mountain bike race is scheduled just two days after the opening.