Ex-ski jumper against ex-footballer

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The Giro d’Italia, the toughest round in the world. And who are the top favourites? Exactly: an ex-ski jumper and an ex-football player. Here Primoz Roglic (33), there Remco Evenepoel (23). The veteran from Slovenia jumped to World Cup gold in the juniors in 2007, the cycling miracle was captain of the Belgian national football team as a 15-year-old. “I want to win the Giro,” they both say. Either way, it makes you wonder how in highly professional cycling it is possible that two career changers can be so good – especially since they hadn’t had a career on two wheels (mountain bike, cyclocross or track) before.

“Both have special biological requirements,” says Beat Müller, Head of Performance at Swiss Cycling. He has spent years identifying and recruiting talent who could make it big in cycling. What does Muller mean? Simple: Roglic and Evenepoel are particularly good at endurance. This is a prerequisite to be successful in road cycling. The VO2 max value is usually used to measure endurance. It shows how much oxygen the human body can absorb and use at full load. The higher the VO2 max, the better. “This ability is largely based on genetic disorders, you can only train it to a limited extent,” explains sports doctor Patrik Noack. Studies have shown that average scores between 62 and 90 are normal in road cycling. Roglic and Evenepoel should have values ​​around 80.

“If someone has a big engine, he can reach the top in different sports. A Ferrari remains a Ferrari – even if it only drives at 30 km/h,” says Jan van Berkel (37). The three-time winner of Ironman Switzerland suspects the same as Müller and Noack. What? That Roglic and Evenepoel knew nothing about their enormous cycling potential when they were still jumping off hills or chasing the ball – those were dormant giants.

There are also Swiss examples

The Giro favorites are not alone with their special past. Meanwhile, other career changers are also raging in the pack. Michael Woods (36, Ka) was a middle-distance runner, Jason Osborne (29, De) became the world rowing champion and Anton Palzer (30, Austria) was one of the best ski mountaineers in the world for ten years. There are also examples in Switzerland: Stefan Küng (28) comes from track cycling, Mauro Schmid (24) used to do cross-country and Filippo Colombo (24) is now not only active on mountain bike, but also on road bike. .

But there is also a more spectacular way. Gent-Wevelgem winner Marlen Reusser (31) used to do athletics and Matteo Badilatti (30) did cross-country skiing as an amateur. He says: “I find it very positive when you try different things as a child and young person. You get different incentives and develop skills that you wouldn’t otherwise have.”

«Choose the wrong sport first»

Swiss Cycling advocates for the polysportive development of children and young people. At the same time you try to find hidden talents. Müller: «On more than 30 test tracks throughout Switzerland, you can easily calculate your V2O max value. All you need to do is time your time on the bike and compare it to your weight. A simple calculation. If you prefer, you can send us your value anonymously. We try to discover talent for cycling in other sports.” The fact is: a high V2O-Max value is by no means a guarantee for a great cycling career. Technology, tactical insight, motivation – many factors play a role.

In the case of Roglic, it was ultimately a coincidence that he found his way into cycling – he crashed hard and turned his back on ski jumping. «Primoz initially chose the wrong sport. In his village, almost all boys become ski jumpers, so that’s how he did it,” said his former team boss Bogdan Fink. And at Evenepoel? “I just didn’t feel like playing football anymore,” he once said.

Source : Blick