Schladming / IXS Cup / my favourite track

For sure one of my favorite places to ride and race the Schladming Planai Bike Park. I missed Crankworx Les Gets for this one and it was totally worth it. The track is so good. Fast, technical, flow, challenging and so much fun. So I raced there. The practice runs went well for me. My Bike worked perfect. I just played a bite with my High speed compression on my Cane Creek rear shock and made my fork harder and swooped to Maxxis Minion tires front and rear. The track was so dry and fast so my changes were perfect.
On Saturday I had the qualification run and I have to commit I was finished and my shoulder hurt from a small crash on Friday. I hardly could hold my handlebar I had nothing left in my tank. I ended up on the 19Th place.  But luckily this run wasn’t the important one.
On Sunday I felt so much better again and could generate much more power that could hold on very well. Always nice to see what your body can do if you reset your mind and try hard. I hit the lines which I wanted and my bike had no mechanical. The starter field was this time very big over 25 racer girls and big names were there.
It was nice to catch up with all the ladies and I enjoyed to go fast. I was about 12 seconds faster in my final run and finished 13Th.
To sum it up a good place for me and I am happy about my race run.My next stop is Crankworx Innsbruck where I am right now. Here I compete in DH and Pumptrack.
You can watch the events on www.crankworx.com.

4X WORLD CHAMPS // VAL DI SOLE (ITA)


„You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfection.“ 

This sentence is normally the one which keeps me going and holding my chin up. But 4 days, after my biggest race of the year, the 4X World Championships in Val di Sole it seams weights are still hanging on my chin. I am super proud on myself that I jumped the pro line so well in practice and proud on myself that I am a tough cookie.

BUT I still can’t believe what happened and why it happened.I know that I jumped the first pro double to short and I didn’t have enough speed to clear the second one. But why exactly in the most important race run in my entire career?

I came to Val di Sole very early and wanted to train on the track. But because of my broken rips and the causing muscle pain I could hardly move a all not to mention ride my bike.
So I had to wait and hope. Luckily the Austrian Cycling National team has one of the best and nicest physiotherapists I have ever met. Margot worked on my body and let the impossible happen – I could train on Wednesday afternoon. I was so happy about it and jumped the first double of the pro line. The next day a jumped the second one without any problems. I was over the moon and couldn’t believe that first I can ride my bike with a broken rip and second that I jumped the pro line. So there were just 3 other girls who jumped the Pro Line. (Anneke Beerten, Caroline Buchanan, Romana Lambounkova)
In my qualification run I placed 8th, which I didn’t like at all and it caused me a sleepless night. The next day I trained the pro line even more and it worked just perfect. I was ready for the finals and so hungry to perform well for myself.
In my first heat I jumped the pro line and it worked well I just started to feel my broken rips again and that the painkillers wore off. In the next heat I had to start from the outside. I had a good gate and crossed to the right (first turn was a right turn). Lucia Otjen handlebar got tangled up with my one but I rode left and she crashed. So I was third and Anneke Beerten and Franzi Meyer (GER) were in front. I was right behind Franzis back wheel and she went for the chicken line. I went for the pro line but was for the first jump a bit to short and couldn’t built up enough speed for the second one so I landed on the top of it.

That was my heat where it worked well for me.

I still feel it and see it in front of my eyes where my handlebar turned and I couldn’t stand the pressure. I bounced from the top of the landing down and crashed hard on my hips and head. In the finish I couldn’t remember the first minutes what happened. I asked always the same question over and over again.  „I am not the finals, or?“ I had a concussion and wasn’t able to ride the small final, which didn’t count for me anyway. I came  to grab a medal. So yes that was my World champs story. 

Congrats to Caroline Buchanan taking the gold medal and Hannes Slavik the silver and because there are just 6 medals in total to give away I also congrats all the others for their incredible passion to this sport and performance. #luckisneeded #4Xisalife  

and that’s the heat where it didn’t work out for me ….

2016 UCI Mountain bike World Championships - Val di Sole Trentino (ITA) / 4X LIVEfirst run in minute 22 and second run in minute 45 (click here)

I wanted to say big thanks to my boyfriend, who is going all the ups and downs with me. Margot and Maria who managed the national team things very well. Big thanks to Radek my working college and friend who was my mechanic. Harriet for watching out for our dog Merlin on Thursday night.  and of course all my sponsors who are helping my all the time.

and thanks for the lovely FB and Instagram support from my friends.

Bye Bye HELENE

DH EUROPEAN CHAMPS // WISLA (POL)

I can’t remember the last time I crashed so hard.

I got invited from the Austrian Cycling federation to compete at the Downhill European Championships in Poland (WISLA).  So of course I wanted to be part of this spectacle and got a ride in the Mondraker bus. Thanks to Maria and Wolli for that (+ the austrian cycling federation for paying my hotel)
All Austrian riders arrived on Friday afternoon and so did we. We did some training laps. The track was actually very difficult. Lots of lines to remember, big jumps, a very dry surface and lots of drops but it weren’t very long, which I liked. Training just sprints, gates and jumps for the last weeks for the up coming 4X World Champs didn’t include long downhill runs. So I liked the short track.
I liked all, the food, the weather, the people, the country, the company but what I really didn’t like was my massive crash in practice. A step up kicked my back wheel and I went straight over the bars. During the flight I thought… “no hands -just try to roll over the shoulder somehow”. Arms and hand injuries normally take so long so I landed on my shoulder head and back. The head was okay the shoulder, and hips just scratched but the back was totally bruised and I broke a rip or maybe two it isn’t sure. So painkillers turned into my best friends and luckily Margot, our physiotherapist with the angel hands – she kept me on track. During the night I suffered but in the morning it was “okay”. So I decided to try it and it worked. In the pits it hurt, sitting in the car it hurt, walking to the chairlift it hurt, on the chairlift it hurt, pushing the bike up the start hill it hurt, in my training runs it hurt, but BAMM in the moment I pedalled out the start hut in my race run it stopped hurting. I think I can mentally erase the pain when it comes to the point I have to race. Good for me. At the end I placed 5th and was 4 seconds faster than in my qualification run. My team college Simone finished 4th and missed just by few seconds the medal. But in total we were very happy about our race runs. In the men class a local Poland guy won and in the women class a French fast girl.
After the European champs, I drove with Hannes Slavik to the Eurobike to meet our sponsors and checking out their new stuff. It went well for both of us.

Now I am in Val di Sole and wait for the 4X practice in the afternoon. I have been here since Sunday and I was hoping to train a little bit on the track before but my rips said NO WAY. I had so much pain that I wasn’t able to ride at all. I hope so much that I can ride this afternoon. Margot, with the angel hands, she arrived yesterday and helped me. So at the moment I am positive and it feels much better than before.
The qualification is tomorrow evening and the race on Friday night. Yes you read right – in the night… gonna be tough with the light conditions to race that late just with few lights. But wish me luck that is what you need as a four crosser very often. 🙂

THANKS TO MY SPONSORS. BIG HUG HELENE

NIVA! NO DIVA // JAM SESSION

NIVA No DIVA

 

Du bist ein Female-Rider, hast Lust auf Downhill, Geschwindigkeit und viel Spaß? Fühlst dich bereits ganz sicher auf deinem Bike und möchtest die nächste Stufe erklimmen? Vielleicht sogar dein erstes Rennen bestreiten oder einfach deine Fahrtechnik verbessern?

Dann bist du der NIVA!NO DIVA – JAM SESSION genau richtig! Mit 4x Pro Tour Gewinnerin, Helene Fruhwirth und Michèle Quint bekommt ihr Spezialistinnen an eure Seite.

Die Mädels haben wieder einiges geplant für dich und das „Icing on the cake“ ist noch, dass du ein Goody Bag gesponsert von  ION, BABY-G, IRIEDAILY, OGIO, VERIVAL, EPIC-Wear, ACROS, CARBOCAGE, MAXXIS, BOARD SHACK, GO PRO (nur für die Racegruppe), SP- GADGETS, R.S.P., SPY und  Dr. Antonio Martins COCO JUICE bekommst.

 

Du kannst wählen, ob du dich für das Rennen am Sonntag auf der Proline vorbereiten willst und bekommst Helene an deine Seite, oder du möchtest ein klassisches Fahrtechniktraining bei Michèle machen.

 

Gruppe Helene maximal 4 Teilnehmerinnen (2 1/2 Tage- Freitag- Samstag- Sonntag) 229 €

Anmeldung für das Rennen unter www.racement.com (open Women)

Gruppe Michèle maximal 8 Teilnehmerinnen (1 Tag) 149 €

Fragen an info@viennabikeacademy.com

 

ganz genauer Zeitplan folgt noch:

Gruppe Helene: 

Freitag:

16:30  Begrüssung der Racegruppe

****GOODY BAG ÜBERGABE****

gemeinsamer Track walk 17:00-19:00

Samstag:

08:00 Uhr Startnummern gemeinsam holen

09.00 – 14.00 Uhr  Pflichttraining

14.00 – 14.30 Uhr  Streckensperrung

ab 14.30 Uhr Seeding Run (der Seeding Run ist nur für die Startreihenfolge wichtig)

Go Pro Videoanalyse Besprechung des Trainingstages (Gruppe Helene)

 

Gruppe Michèle:

Samstag:

9:30 – 10:00 Begrüßung und Goody Bag Übergabe

10:00 – 10:30 Basics Check

10:30 – 13:00 Fahrtechniktraining auf der Milka Line / Z- Line

13:00 -14:00 Gemeinsame Mittagspause beider Gruppen im Thomsn

14:00 – 17:00 Fahrtechniktraining auf der X -Line und am Hacklbergtrail

Gruppe Helene:

Sonntag: 

08.00 – 11.00 Uhr  Offizielles Training

11.00 – 11.30 Uhr   Streckensperrung

ab 11.30 Uhr  Rennlauf 

Siegerehrung ca. 30 min nach Rennschluss

Nachbesprechung für Gruppe Helene

Bei Fragen einfach mailen an info@viennabikeacademy.com oder Anrufen 0043 650 8381111

Michèle und ich freuen uns auf dich.

PUMP PUMP PUMP

My race season officially kicked off. So was my first stop the capital of Germany, Berlin. I got invited by Jost the 4x World champ. He is organizing the Pump Track Battle World series so I took my hardtail and my BMX bike and drove up to the North. Actually I didn’t drive my boyfriend did and in the back of the car we had our newest family member – a 6th month old silver Labrador Retriever called Merlin. The journey went fine and I was excited to race again. The race was great and the level was high. I felt again the race adrenaline and was „pumped“ to be there. My bike worked fine my new wheels rolled fast and at the end I placed 3rd. I was happy with the result because to be honest I haven’t ridden a pumptrack for a while and it is not my best discipline.  Apart from the great race and the very nice exhibition a other main reason why I came here was to meet one of my longest sponsoring partner, Iriedaily. I remember very well. 10 years ago it was very trendy to wear skater pants with boxer shorts and I bought an Iriedaily Baggy Jeans and though  „WAU“ I really like this Jeans and so I asked Iriedaily if they want to sponsor me and since then I am riding for them. I counted 10 years. Such a long time. Just my sponsor R.S.P supports me longer.

And apart from this I have some sponsor changes as well. I am riding for NORCO Bikes this season and for the new Board- Shack Team. I also have Verival,  Novatec Wheels , Ogio bags and HT Components new. Norco is one of the brands I wanted since 3 years now and I stoked to get the deal this year. I am excited about the bikes and race season with this new strong partner in the back.

Some of you know that I love cereals and so I have a cereal sponsor who makes it much easier for me to get up in the morning knowing I will get a good cereal bowl. Thanks VERIVAL

Then I have Novatec Wheels and I run the Factor Carbon Wheels. HT Components gave me click pedals which I found are better than the Shimano ones. I always had problems with at the gate to trust that I won’t clip out but with those I can be sure.

So my next stop is this weekend Vienna at the Bike Festival. There is pumptrack race. So next chance to improve my Pump track skills. cu Helene

 

 

Merry X Mas

IMG_20151116_210119

The year is nearly over and it is Christmas day. I wish all my sponsors and friends a great Christmas time and happy New Year.

My year résumé is very simple  – I am satisfied with my performance this year and for the people who know me better that this is not very often. Unfortunately I can’ t be very very satisfied because I expected more at the World champs but I raced nearly all 4x Pro Tour races and just didn’t win one. I won the overall Pro Tour and first time in my career I am number one in the UCI World ranking.
I didn’t find myself in hospital or on crutches. I didn’t have to X-Ray any bone. I improved my jumping skills and work now with a new technic coach. I got some new sponsors for the next season. I will ride for NORCO Bikes and NOVATEC wheels.
My private life is great, my family and I are healthy and we got a super cute dog. A Labrador Retriever, called Merlin. I am very thankful for this year and race season.

My plans for next year are racing the 4X Pro Tour again, few DH races and focus more on my women coaching camps.

Big Thanks to all my sponsors, who believe in me and help me. And also big thanks to my boyfriend and the photographers for the pictures.
social media facts 2015:

  • 2015: 30.020 clicks on my webpage www.helenefruhwirth.com
  • 2015: 72.155 clicks on my webpage www.viennabikeacademy.com
  • Facebook: about 5800 Followers
  • Instagram: 921 followers
  • Youtube:  2000 views per video
  • vimeo:  3000 views per video
  • Pinkbike: 10.000 views per video
  • Google+: 150.000 views

Rockstar Feeling

rockstar

ROCKSTARFEELING

We arrived at the race ground (Jablonec CZE) on thursday afternoon, already a bite late, for training. But because I knew the track from last year quite well so it wasn’t really a big surprise for me. I took it easy and did some laps.

The days before were very stressful for me. I had to work from Monday to Wednesday, still managed to put in some training, packed and drove for 5 hours… so Friday I decided to stay in my room to relax the whole morning and it really paid off. My training in the afternoon worked well and so did my qualification run. I placed first with an advantage of 7,5 seconds.
Some of the girls crashed in their qualification runs, so I didn’t really know what my time meant. I just knew that I had the best gate pick and that I could protect my inside line very well.
I managed to do the same during my race runs. I had two good gates, was leading from the first turn on and could even increase my gap to the next rider. In my final heat the crowd was pumping and it was so loud that I had no idea, if the girls were close or far behind, so I raced as fast as I could, didn’t look back and even jumped the last big finish jump (which had caused me headache in training) – just to make sure nobody would pass me there.

I was so relieved to take the win home.

You can watch the whole replay on the link below.
Bildschirmfoto 2015-07-27 um 22.07.37

watch the replay here and you can see the women’s heats at 19:04 and the final at 19:23.

11816157_400743526792045_7811757579306030716_o

jablonec2015

JBC-2

To sum it up it was a very stressful weekend for me – even though I won so clearly. In racing you never know what might happen. You can nail a section a million times, but when it matters most in the final race run something happens, you make that one mistake and suddenly you find yourself in the dirt watching the others pass you by in slow motion.

JBC Revelations is one of the most special races of the season on a unique track: There are a lot of sections, where you can mess it up and many sections where you can crash. Even the men were super stressed. I guess just 6 wanted to win and the rest of them just wanted to survive.

In the men’s class it was not a big surprise that Tomas Slavik won – also by a wide winning margin – followed by Quentin Derbier.

The final woman result:

1 Helene Fruhwirth
2 Simona Jirkova (CZE)
3 Natalia Piwowarczyk (POL)
4 Olga Ramzaykina (RUS)

JBC-10

PSX_20150724_210453

Thanks to my Christian Fessl and Christian Donner for the pictures. Thanks to my sponsors.

And big thanks to Tomas Slavik and his event crew for everything.

Even if this event is mainly focused on the performance of men (“#grabyourballs”) with a testosterone-overkill when it comes to racing, this year the women got their own rider’s presentation, were interviewed and received big respect for what they were doing. This means a lot to me personally – because as one can imagine, it is still not common that women get treated the same as men in this extreme sport. 11728773_606290692807257_8713097008118968269_o

JBC-5

PSX_20150725_224557

For the next three weeks I have no races planned. I want to concentrate on my jumping and sprint skills because I will need them for the World Champs in Italy ( Val di Sole – 20-22 August ) .
I wish all of you a pleasant August.

 

German Blog Entry at the Gravity Magazine 

Was tun, wenn man keine Eier in der Hose hat? #GRABYOURBALLS

Ja garnicht erst hinfahren? Am besten sich der Herausforderung garnicht erst stellen und Zuhause bleiben? Das dachten sich bis auf 28 Männer und 6 Frauen wahrscheinlich einige, wenns darum ging bei der 4x Pro Tour Round 4 (JBC REVELATION) mit zu fahren.

Kann man ihnen es verübeln? Ich glaube nicht. Denn, die von Tomas Slavik selbst designte und gebaute Strecke, hatte es so in sich und warf schon so manchen Biker aus dem Sattel. Wie zum Beispiel meinen Landskollegen Hannes Sklavik der letztes Jahr mit seinem Backflip/ Frontflip mega crash beim 2ten Pro Double einen sehr bleibenden Eindruck hinterließ, nämlich in den Köpfen der anderen Fahrern.

Am Donnerstag ging das ganze Spektakel bereits los. Training am späten Nachmittag stand am Programm. Ich kam auf Grund eines schweren Autounfalls auf der Landstraße zu spät. Keine Angst wir waren zum Glück nicht involviert.

Also hieß es am Anfang mal easy going und Linien anschauen. Nachdem ich die Strecke vom Vorjahr gut kannte, hatte ich jetzt keine großen Schwierigkeiten, denn für uns Mädls gabs eine Chicken Line bei den Mega Pro Doubles und selbst der Startdrop über das Gap wurde entschärft nachdem es da letztes Jahr schwere Deternationen gab.  Bei den Jungs sah das ganze schon schwieriger aus. Die hatten mit dem Wind und mit der Angst zu tun. Man konnte die Anspannung förmlich riechen und einige hoben sich die Pro Line für Freitag auf. Ich natürlich auch. Nein Spaß bei Seite die Pro Line würde ich „Stand heute“ sicher nicht springen. Am Abend fand dann noch die offizielle Eröffnung statt mit einer sehr netten Riders Presentation auf der Bühne mit einem etwas eigenartigen Kommentator, der lustig sein wollte, aber es dann am Ende nicht schaffte und einem mega Feuerwerk, dass in Österreich alle Sicherheitsregel brechen würde, die man sich nur vorstellen kann. Aber es war fett und wunderschön.

Am Freitag hieß es dann für mich einmal Vormittags ausruhen. Ich war einfach mega platt von meiner Woche. (Rennwochenende in Polen, Autofahrt, Arbeit, Training, Autofahrt , Renntraining) Am Nachmittag war ich dann wieder fit, fand aber ehrlich gesagt nicht ganz meinen Rhythmus. Der Qualifikationslauf war glaub ich mein schlimmster von diesem Jahr, aber anscheinend ging es den anderen Mädls ähnlich. Denn ich gewann ihn trotzdem. Bei den Herren war Tomas Slavik der schnellste gefolgt von einem Local mit einem Downhill Bike. Ja ein Downhill Bike richtig gelesen. Die Strecke war so ruppig, dass „Mann“ und „Frau“ ganz schön viel gut machen konnte mit einem Big Bike im Waldstück und im Rock Garden.

Ja und das war dann auch mein großes Bedenken am Samstag für den Finallauf. Simona, eine Local Downhill Tschechien, die ich nie zuvor gesehen hatte, die in der Quali stürtze, es somit keine aussagekräftige Zeit gab, und die ich auch im Training kein einziges mal sah weckte meinen Ehrgeiz alles zu geben und zu riskieren. Denn bis zu dem Zeitpunkt der Zieleinfahrt und dem Replay auf dem Screen im Ziel hatte ich keine Ahnung ob sie schnell ist oder sogar schneller als ich. Nachdem die Tschechischen Fans und Zuschauer total ausflippten und die Musik so laut war konnte ich nicht einmal hören ob jemand hinter mir fuhr und somit gab ich einfach alles bis ins Ziel. Wie ich dann am Replay sehen konnte, durfte ich mich am Ende über einen großen Vorsprung und einen verdienten Sieg freuen. Denn den Start hab ich getroffen, die Waldsektion sauste ich durch und den Zielsprung (der mir ehrlich gesagt Kopfweh verursachte weil er so komisch zum Springen war) sprang ich weit genug und safe.

So sah das Endergebnis aus:

1 Helene Fruhwirth
2 Simona Jirkova (CZE)
3 Natalia Piwowarczyk (POL)
4 Olga Ramzaykina (RUS)

Bei den Herren ging es schon viel wilder zu also bei uns Damen. Hannes Slavik hatte kurz vor dem Ziel einen Platten und zog somit nicht ins Finale ein. Blake Nilsen crashte durch Selbstverschulden am Wallride und zog auch nicht ins Finale. Der zweite von der Quali overshootete den 2 Pro Double, der nächste kam beim corner jump zu kurz und köpfelte über, der nächste blieb gleich beim Start hängen und stürzte ins Gap. Nur Tomas Slavik und Quentin Derbier lieferten einen spitzen Run nach dem anderen ab. Bis ins Finale wo dann am Ende the „Grab Your Balls Men“ himself Tomas Slavik die Nase vorne hatte und unter tobenden Geschrei und Gejubel den Heimsieg holte. Wie die Zuschauer abgingen kann man sich vorstellen, einfach nur abartig.

1 Tomas Slavik (CZE)
2 Derbier Quentin (CZE)
3 David Roberts (GBR)
4 Metcalfe Alexander (GBR)

Ein großes Lob und ein Dankeschön an die Crew von Tomas Slavik, die jedes Jahr so ein super Event auf die Beine stellen und einfach alles für den Sport und die Athleten/innen geben.

 

Ticked it of my list

jumpy

I am definitely on a lucky strike. At the moment everything I touch just works. I really can get used to that. Fingers crossed that holds on until the World Champs.

Last weekend I compete at the 4x Pro Tour round 3 in Poland at exactly the track, where my life turned around two years ago. I don’t really know exactly what happened but I got told I jumped the double over the corner to short, hit it very bad with my back wheel and went over the bars straight on my head. Knocked myself out and woke up in the hospital. And there the doctors told me that there is something in my head which doesn’t look good and I should check it again in Austria with an MRT… what I did and since then lots of things happened and luckily everything turned out good at the end.
I don’t want to dig out the old story but just for the understanding this place / race and jump was something big for me and I was very afraid to go there and race there again. I was not sure if I would be able to overcome my fear and jump this jump again. Some of you maybe will ask „Why she is going there then and putting herself into this uncomfortable situation?“ To be honest I don’t know exactly – but I think I wanted to go back to this place to finish where all had started and end my thoughts about the brain surgery. Running away from fears is not my style of living.

polen2015 (1 von 1)-2

polen2015 (1 von 1)

So I arrived there on Thursday evening with my boyfriend and on friday I practiced on the track. I felt good and of course tensed but motivated to jump this jump. I didn’t even ride once the „chicken line“ because this wasn’t an option for me. I know it sounds stupid but if I wouldn’t have jump the jump I probably would have started at all because this race was not about winning against the others it was more about competing against myself.
How you can see on the first picture I did it and so I did it in all my runs. I won the qualification and the final run too. I am vey proud of myself and after two years I can close the door behind me, lock it and throw the key away.

polen2015 (2 von 5)

Thanks to my boyfriend, who is helping me in every facet of my life and supporting me as much as he can.

The final result:
1 Helene Fruhwirth
2 Natalia Piwowarczyk
3 Michaela Berakova
4 Eva Katharina Brauer

My next stop is in Jablonec at the JBC 4x Revelation next weekend so come and watch if you are near it’s definitively on of the sickest stop of the 4x Pro Tour.

Here the PINK BIKE REPORT + VIDEO:

 

Bildschirmfoto 2015-07-20 um 11.46.04

Thanks to my Sponsors:

logobalken

Triple Tension / NIVA! No DIVA Jam Session

Letztes Wochenende war ein ganz besonderes Event für mich. Nämlich die Niva! No Diva Jam Session in Saalbach Hinterglemm im Zuge des Glemmride Festivals. Für die, die es nicht wissen „NIVA“ wurde von Michèle Quint und mir, während unserem gemeinsamen Portugal Aufenthalt, ins Leben gerufen. Wir sind jetzt auch kein Team oder so was. Wir sind einfach zwei Downhill Fahrerinnen, die durch Zufall, nämlich den gleichen Rahmensponsor – Alutech – zu einander gefunden haben und auf der gleichen Welle surfen. Wir haben uns selbst das Ziel gesetzt gemeinsame MTB Projekte zu planen und umzusetzen. So wie diese jetzt- und ich kann stolz sagen es war der MEGA HAMMER.

NNDsmall (9 von 17)

Normalerweise ist man als Top Downhill Racerin fast immer alleine auf der Strecke im Training und beim Rennen sowieso. Das Mädls gemeinsam fahren ist eher selten. Ich weiss nicht genau woran es liegt. Vielleicht daran dass wir am Ende des Tages doch nur Konkurrentinnen sind und jede gewinnen will? Aber es könnte so viel leichter sein wenn „Frau“ mehr zusammen halten und dieses ganze extreme Konkurrenzdenken auf Eis legen würde. Und so kam uns auch die Idee zum klassichen Fahrtechnik Training dieses Racecamp anzubieten. Mädls, die noch nie ein Rennen gefahren sind die Chance zu geben gemeinsam mit anderen Mädls und von mir begleitet und gecoached zu werden. Denn mit „alleine auf der Strecke herumkrebsen“ kommt man oft nicht sehr weit und der Spaß bleibt dann auch auf der Strecke und verstaubt hinter einem Anlieger.

NNDsmall (16 von 17)

NNDsmall (5 von 17)

NNDsmall (4 von 17)

NIVA NO DIVA-85s

NIVA NO DIVA-94s

NIVA NO DIVA-104ss

NIVA NO DIVA-22s

Tag 1 Vormittag : stand bei meiner Gruppe Anmeldung und Streckenbegehung am Programm. Und bei Gruppe Michèle stand den ganzen Tag Fahrtechniktraining am Programm (mehr Fotos hier).

NIVA NO DIVA-67
Tag 1 Mittag: gemeinsames Zamsitzen der beiden Gruppen im Thomson

NIVA NO DIVA-140s

NIVA NO DIVA-156s

Tag 1 Nachmittag: Training auf der Pro Line.

Nach der ersten Abfahrt schwebte ein großes Fragezeichen über den Köpfen von Nicole, Linda und Melanie. Ehe sie was sagen konnten erklärte ich ihnen, dass die erste Abfahrt immer die schrecklichste sei. Selbst nach 16 Jahren Rennen fahren ist meine erste Abfahrt auch immer die Schlimmste. Man glaubt man hat das Biken verlernt und fährt wie der letzte Mensch auf Erden. Fahrt zwei verlief dann wie prophezeit sehr gut und Fahrt 3 dann noch besser und bei Fahrt vier strahlten sie über beide Ohren.

Am Ende des Tages bekamen sie auch noch eine kleine Hausaufgabe mit. Sie sollten die Strecke aus ihrem Gedächtnis aufzeichnen mit all ihren Sprüngen, Kurven und Wurzelpassagen, was sie alle sehr genau nahmen, wenn ich mir die Skizzen so ansah.

NIVA NO DIVA-123s

Tag 2:

NIVA NO DIVA-126s
Bevor es auf die Strecke ging schauten wir uns noch die Go Pro Videos an und besprachen nochmals die Linien. Super motiviert ging es dann auch schon los. Vielleicht zu? Ich weiß es nicht denn leider kam Melanie bei der ersten Abfahrt in dritten Kurve zu Sturz und verletzte sich am Knie. Sie musste abtransportiert werden und konnte somit auch nicht mehr am Rennen teilnehmen. Gute Besserung Melanie. Die beiden anderen Mädls Linda und Nicole bewiesen Nervenstärke und fuhren am Nachmittag einen souveränen Qualifikationslauf herunter. Ich war mächtig stolz auf sie, denn immerhin war es für Linda das erste Rennen und für Nicole ihr zweites. In der Quali fuhren beide in die Top Ten und ich auf den 3 Platz.

Tag 3:

An Sonntag gings dann zur Sachen und es hieß all das gelernte so gut wie möglich umzusetzen. Leichter gesagt als getan, aber ich kann mich als Trainerin nicht beschweren, denn sie lieferten ab wie echte Profis.

NIVA NO DIVA-129s
Nicole, die Ehrgeizige, redete ich noch ins Gewissen, von der Ersten Sekunden an echt absolut alles zu geben. Denn nach der Ziellinien ist „ach ich hatte noch Kraft. Ich hätte noch mehr können“ zu spät und fehl am Platz, wenn man Rennen fährt. Nicole gab definitiv alles, denn sie überholte sogar eine Fahrerin (die ihr leider wertvolle Sekunden kostete) und platzierte sich am Ende am 6ten Platz (mit einer Zeitverbesserung von 23 Sekunden).

NIVA NO DIVA-154sNIVA NO DIVA-131s
Linda, die Nervenstarke, die am Freitag gar nicht glaubte, dass sie eine ganze Abfahrt schaffen wird racte runter wie ein Oberprofi. Sobald es um die Zeit ging und um Ziele war sie zu Dingen fähig von denen sie gar nicht wusste, dass sie es so gut schaffen wird. Linda verbesserte sich um einen Platz und 7 Sekunden. Respekt!

NIVA NO DIVA-132s

NIVA NO DIVA-145s

Als dann beide Mädls aus den Starthaus los pedalierten, und ich sie nach der ersten Kurve nicht mehr sah, hieß es für mich UMSWITCHEN ABER SCHNELL. Von der Trainerin zur Racerin. Und zum Glück konnte ich das auch auf Knopfdruck und ging mit meiner Troy Lee Design Speeda Leoparden Short auf die Jagd. Die Jagd nach der Bestzeit.

Aber ich muss ganz ehrlich zu geben einen Leistungsdruck verspürte ich schon ein Bisserl von mir selbst. Da zeigst den Mädls tagelang die Ideallinien und fährst dann vielleicht nicht aufs Stockerl? Kein Stockerl = keine guten Linien = Kompetenz Fail ?? Und somit gab ich alles und tritt mir die Lungen aus den Hals, pushte bei jeder Kurve raus, drückte die Sprünge, vermied so oft wie möglich die Bremse zu berühren, aber im Mittelstück fand sich dann mein Gesäß/Oberschenkel kurzzeitig zwischen Reifen und Sattel wieder, weil ich eine Schlag bekam. Ich kann es schwer sagen, ob ich bei dem Fehler 3,532 Sekunden verlor und somit den Sieg, aber was ich weiß ist, dass ich den Rest der Linien perfekt traf und sehr zufrieden bin.

Am Ende fuhr ich auf Platz zwei und Simone Weichselberger durfte sich über ihren ersten Karrieresieg freuen. Ich vergönne es ihr von Herzen.


NIVA NO DIVA-159s

NIVA NO DIVA-166s

NIVA NO DIVA-168s

Für mich persönlich ist zusammenfassend zu sagen, dass dieses Wochenende mit diesen tollen Frauen, sicherlich zu den schönsten meiner MTB Karriere zählt und das selbst für mich nach 16 Jahren aktives Racen, dieses eine enorme Bereicherung war. Ich bin sehr dankbar dafür, dass ich all mein Rennwissen weiter geben konnte und so viel Dankbarkeit und Grinsen von den dreien zurück bekam. Außerdem haben sie es geschafft haben, dass ich aufgeregter war als in meinem Lauf und mein Adrenalinspiegel endlich mal wieder höher war. I call it TT – „Triple Tension“.

Ich möchte mich sehr herzlich bei Tourismus Saalbach Hinterglemm (Karin Pasterer), Ion Bikes, Iriedaily, Dr. Antonio Martins Coco Juice, Maxxis Germany, Alutech Cycles und Casio/ Baby – G für die tolle Unterstützung bedanken.

NIVANODIVA-13sNIVA NO DIVA-11s

NIVA NO DIVA-147s

NIVA NO DIVA-10s

und danke an Cri für die tollen Fotos:

NNDsmall (11 von 17)Du findest alle Fotos auch auf der FB Fan Seite.

 

Race report 4x Pro Tour Round 1 Winterberg (GER)

podium4xprotour

The season kicked officially off for me. I had a small downhill race in Slovakia last weekend and I won it but this weekend was my first big race. The first round of the 4X Pro Tour in Winterberg – at the IXS Dirt Masters Festival in Germany. It is always a mega spectacle. The whole weekend was packed with events.

The friday training worked out good for me. Saturday was the same, but my qualification run could have been better (2nd). So I put myself under a pressure to jump the last big finish jump, just to be prepared, because no other girl was jumping that jump. Because to be honest the second place was not an option for me.
On Sunday morning I tried the jump – jumped waaaaaayyy to far – crashed hard – got up again – did it again – nailed it nice – tried it again just in case – landed it even better – better 1:2 because I was not satisfied with a fifty: fifty chance.
I won the first heat clearly and in the final heat I had the second line choice. Gated fast again and rode to the inside – locked number one’s line and protected my inside everywhere I could until the finish line. I am very happy about my result and that I cleared the finish jump.
Thanks to my sponsor for supporting me. Thanks to Markus Slavik for the Action Shots.

Results:
1) Me
2) Julia Lackas
3) Marisa Roth
4) Michaela Berakova

4X Pro Tour WIN

I also wanted to race at the Red Bull pumptrack Battle. Had the fastest time from the ladies… but at the end I wasn’t allowed to start. Read in my next blog why, you won’t believe it.

We have a winner

Finally it is over and we have a winner of the Enduro Bike. Congratulation to…? WATCH To know.

Thanks again to everyone who donated, helped us to publish this project, to finance this project and thanks to everyone who helped us.

To sum it up.

10.000 views
15.000 clicks
lots of likes
and 82 donators

2014 Euros for WINGS FOR LIFE. 

bye bye Helene

Voodoo Ride – We ride for those who can’t

The „Voodoo Ride“ project was set up in the beginning of 2014 by Tanja Hendrysiak and myself. It is based on my dramatic personal experience, my brain surgery that I had in Spring 2014. After a MTB crash doctors found a cerebral cavernoma, a blood vessel malformation in the brain during a routine check, which needed to be taken out. At that point it was not clear, how the surgery would turn out – if I might have a disability, since the cavernoma was located in the motor center of the brain. Naturally these were very scary news.

I am very lucky because the surgery turned out fine and I can live my life how I want and do what I love – which is riding my bike! But a lot of people are not as fortunate and that‘s why we got the idea to help them and to contribute something, which is this video and a subsequent charity tombola for „Wings for Life“. Their goal is to find a cure for parplegia.
The idea of the „Voodoo Ride“ movie with its charitable intention met a lot of response from my and Tanja’s sponsors (Manitou, Hayes, Answer, Sun Ringle, Merida, Acros, Ion, Iriedaily und Shimano), as well as actors and voluntary background actors, the videomaker Gianlucca Ricceri, the photographer Jorge Matreno and the „Wings fo Life“-project manager Wolfgang Illek.
I met up with Wolfgang Illek and interviewed him:
Interview with Wolfgang Illek:
Since Wolfgang’s crash during his training for the Downhill Worldcup in Schladming 2004 he has been paralysed from the shoulders down. It was not a spectacular crash, but a quite common one „over the handlebars“. But it was enough to put him into a wheelchair and to completely turn his life upside down.
„Right after the crash there is nothing like before. I communicated merely with my eyes and after 13 months of hospital and rehabilitation, I could go back to my family and friends for the first time. Back home I realized that there were a lot of barriers and obstacles and it was hard for me to depend so much on the help of others. ‚Please‘ and ‚thank you‘ became part of my daily standard vocabulary.“ (Wolfgang Illek, Project Manager at „Wings for Life“)
Despite this cruel blow of fate Wolfgang doesn’t let himself down. As athlete he is used to fighting his way through. He finished his studies, continues to exercise consequently and now works as project manager for „Wings For Life“.
„I am very proud to be a part of „Wings For Life. This foundation for spinal cord research has the goal to find cure for spinal cord injuries. In order to achieve that, we support the most pomising research projects all over the world. The question is not whether effective treatments and cures will be found, but when they will be found. We have great support from the field of sports, for example from Sebastian Vettel and many more. But it can not be enough – we have not yet reached our goal. We are happy about every support we can get and with Helene’s and Tanja‘s „Voodoo Ride Project“ you can see, that everyone is able to contribute a part. Small donations are impotant. (Wolfgang Illek, Project Manager at „Wings for Life“)
 
Wings for Life guarantees that 100% of the donations will go towards cutting-edge spinal cord research projects. The same applies to the proceeds generated through the „Voodoo Ride“ bike- tombola.

Donation end 10th dec. 2014 24:00
The winner will be announced on Facebook and here. 
The personal data will not be used for anything else then this tombola.

VOODOO RIDE – We ride for those who can’t / 20 August movie release

In the beginning of 2014 I had a serious brain surgery and it wasn’t clear if I might have a disability and never be able to ride again… Luckily everything turned out well, but this experience left a mark, which made me start to think about ways to help other people, who were not so lucky like me- like people in a wheelchair. 
So the VOODOO RIDE movie and charity project was born. 
So Tanja and I are organizing a donation tombola of the „VOODOO RIDE Bike“, where all the earnings go straight to “Wings for life”- a foundation for spinal cord research with the goal to find cure for paraplegics throughout the world. We are glad to give something back and support Wings for life. „Because we ride for those who can’t, but hopefully will again one day!“


Thanks to:
Hayes Components (Manitou, Hayes, Sun Ringle, Answer)
Merida
Shimano
Acros
Iriedaily
Ion
Filmer: Gianluca Ricceri
Photographer: Jorge Matreno
Actors: Ana Marcia Da Luz, Rodrigo Silva, Joao Zuzarte Reis, Pedro Pires, Christoph Putz. Joao Goncalves, Daniela Teixeira, Sara Pinto, Rita Santos, Catarina Moura, Tania Henriques
Diagao Ramalho from Naya house
FB group Sintra Freeride Militia
FB group Sintra Downhill
Follow us on Facebook/werideforthosewhocant.
The movie will be released on the 20th August. So stay tuned for the following donation on WINGS FOR LIFE. 
Bye bye Helene


GRAB YOUR BALLS? *WTF*#?=”(()&!§(?=)$;:_”§”/=)/F#CK

I I think this race news will be the most clarifying and honest report I have ever written so far and I guess some of you won’t be happy to read this, but I felt to write it. After this disillusioning racing weekend. JBC REVELATION- Grab your balls – was the slogan of the last event!? ?*WTF*#?=”(()&!§(?=)$;:_”§”/=)/F#CK.
The name already says everything –  that this race wasn’t meant to be a race for women. I have to admit, this year this theme was so true,  and it’s our own fault. The track was very versatile, in a perfect condition and for me personally it was not difficult.
The weather was fine and the place was awesome. For me, it was one of the best races this year. Via facebook I tried to organize and motivate the other 4X ladies to come together and race on this high-class-level, but it was a hassle.
Just five registered, and in the end only 2 were racing. 2 hurt themselves (wish them a quick recovery) and one didn’t even show up.
I don’t know what the problem was… Is the elite 4x woman sport dead? Does the 4x women class not count anymore at all? Why do I have to be so many times confronted with discriminatory moments against women in this sport? Like “this is not a girls track!”, “no girls at the rider’s presentation”, “women were not planned to be represented!”, “MTB is mens sport”,  “women shouldn’t ride this track!”.
Did posing and being beautiful become more important for the bike industry than performing? Why do girls get sponsoring deals, although they can’t even make a bunny hop and why are they surprised, that the men in this sport get jealous and talk insulting about women? Is the whole 4x sport dead? Is nobody motivated to race, because the World Champs already took place? Is the Enduro format killing the 4x sport? Could the 4x management be better? Do the athletes themselves turn their own backs on the 4x sport, because they have to?

So many questions but I don’t want to answer them all – I just want to make you think about it. 

I can just tell you, the spectators love this format. It’s easy to watch, easy to understand and so easy to get infected by the amazing atmosphere. Even I can’t watch the mens’ heats before my own racing heats because I got so nervous and emotionally touched by this action. The JBC Crew worked their … off to make this 4x Pro Tour Gold event so perfect and there were only 42 men and 4 women. Seriously?? Of course the mens’ pro line wasn’t the easiest one, but the event has had the best media coverage for us athletes since a long time. So in my case of course I was there to represent my sponsors, the 4x sport and myself. I am very proud of my performance, because I was riding and training on a good level and it’s not my fault, that there was nearly nobody there to compete with. And if someone gives me shit about my first place, that it was easy, because we were not many women…. I just say just come here 2015 and do it better.