Professional cyclist before comeback

“It was a real extreme situation at the beginning!”

Michael Gogl makes his race comeback at the Tour of Austria

(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Manfred Binder)

Professional cyclist Michi Gogl celebrates his race comeback at the Tour of Austria after months of knee injury. In an interview with "Krone", the 31-year-old talks about the mentally tough rehab time and the shattered dream of being able to take part in the Olympics together with his wife Susi Gogl-Walli.

Servus instead of Bonjour! That applies to Michael Gogl from tomorrow. The professional cyclist in the service of the World Tour team Alpecin will not start at the Tour de France as usual in July, but at the Tour of Austria. Gogl is celebrating his comeback after months of knee problems and most recently a corona illness.

"Suddenly you're looking at the wall at home"
"That's why I'm not so far off the form curve. But we are testing whether my knee is stable enough to be able to cope with the tour. I'm really looking forward to the home tour, I haven't taken part for nine years anyway," says Gogl, who also gives an insight into the mentally tough rehab period in an interview with "Krone". "It was an extreme situation, especially at the beginning! You're full of juice, suddenly you have a pain in your knee and you're looking at the wall at home." Especially as the cycling season is very important for the 31-year-old from Linz, he is also competing for a new contract with Alpecin.

Fight for a new contract
"Of course, the negotiating basis is not the best. But the team knows what I can do," says Gogl, who doesn't want to stop complaining. Even if another big goal has recently fallen through. Namely participation in the Olympics, together with his wife and track and field athlete Susi Gogl-Walli. "Bitter, as the course would have suited me. Susi and I would have been delighted, as we've been on this path together for so long.

If it had culminated in the Olympics, that would have been really cool," says Gogl, who adds with a grin that their new common goal is now Los Angeles 2028. Whether he will accompany his wife to Paris still depends on the rest of the season, when a new contract is at stake. Nevertheless, Gogl has already told the team that he would like to be there in Paris. "If there's a chance, I'll be there. It's not every day that you get to admire your wife in a packed stadium!"