Sometimes a single moment decides an entire life. For me it was the feeling of rolling really fast on two wheels for the first time, free, light and wild. That feeling became passion, and passion became a profession.
My path into cycling has no spectacular hero story. It begins in a very down-to-earth way, with training rides on weekends, with parents who drove me to races and with club coaches who had a good eye for young talent. What started as fun in childhood grew more serious over the years. I noticed that the mix of endurance, brains and courage suited me. Cycling is a school for life, because it teaches you to handle success and defeat with the same dignity.
First Steps in Sport
Early on I knew that I did not want to just pedal a little on weekends but to race. The first competitions in my region were something like rites of passage. There I learned how to deal with stage fright, with rivals who were sometimes stronger and with weather that rarely played along the way you hoped. That phase mattered because it turned a talented girl into a determined athlete.
When I was admitted to the national squad, a new world opened up. Suddenly I was sitting next to athletes whose names I knew from television. The training camps were intense and the demands were high. I like to remember that time, because it showed me that top performance is no accident but the result of thousands of small, often invisible decisions. When I go to bed, what I eat, how I handle stress: all of it suddenly became part of my sporting life.
Track and Road: Two Worlds, One Love
Track cycling fascinated me in particular. The small wooden oval, the whistle of the tires, the speed that presses you into the saddle on the banked turns: it is a world of its own. On the track you learn to be precise. Every pedal stroke counts, and every position in the race is strategy. Road cycling, by contrast, calls for patience, a tactical sense over many hours and the ability to give everything at the right moment. The two disciplines complement each other, and I loved both of them with all my heart.
Anyone interested in the sport today should know that these two worlds shape different characters. The track rider in me wanted to calculate everything and prepare everything. The road rider was allowed to let things run their course, get into the flow of the race and strike at the decisive moment. Much of what defined my career grew out of this interplay.
Olympics London 2012: A Highlight
London was not just a competition for me. London was a promise I had made to myself as a young athlete: to start at the Olympic Games once. In the summer of 2012 that dream came true. The mood in the city, the Olympic Village, my teammates, the feeling of knowing a whole nation was behind me: all of that is hard to put into words. It is one of those moments you remember for the rest of your life.
After the Games, things grew quieter inside me. I sensed that I had reached a point where there was nothing bigger left to chase. This realization is not sad but peaceful. It led me to the decision to end my career with dignity and to stay loyal to the sport in a different role. If you want to learn more about the individual sporting highlights, feel free to browse the page Achievements and Milestones.
What Sport Has Taught Me
A sporting career is much more than a résumé. It is a school of patience, humility and perseverance. I learned that talent withers without hard work and that hard work without fun becomes a burden. I learned that the truly important people in life are not those who congratulate you after a win but those who call after a defeat and simply listen. And I learned that the racing bike is a wonderful teacher, because it leaves you no excuses.
Today, with a little distance, I see my path more clearly. I see the breaks, the detours, the injuries. But I also see the people who helped me get back up again and again. On the page Supporters and Partners I want to give these people the place they deserve. And on the home page you will find my personal words on leaving active sport.