For 10 years, mountain bike professional Urs Huber has been going from success to success. There is hardly a race that he has not yet won. Of particular note are his successes at the legendary Grand Raid from Verbier to Grimentz.

You have virtually been dominating the marathon distance for many years. In your eyes, what are the three most important factors that lead to success?

The most important thing is to enjoy everything about your sport. With mountain biking, I was able to turn my hobby into a profession and can now do what I love best every day. This makes training throughout the year significantly easier. Needless to say, it also needs an environment that is not only on hand at all times but also offers support when necessary.

During your races, you are on the go at high intensity for several hours at a time. Can you give us an overview of how you organise your training? How much do you train with the racing bike, how much with the mountain bike and at what levels of intensity? Do you do strength training? And how much time do you invest in recovery?

A good 50% of my training is done on the racing bike. Since physical abilities tend to be the deciding factor in most marathon races, the racing bike is ideal for my training. Most of the time I train without heeding the specific intensity levels. Since I train solely on hilly routes, I reach these automatically. But if I want specifically to train at high levels of intensity, I prefer the mountain bike because I can also train my coordination at a higher pulse rate on the demanding single trails. Strength training is part of my training program, too. I do it three times a week during the winter and once a week during the season. In the last few years I have tended to favour modern functional training over mind-numbing weight lifting equipment. Sufficient recovery, eight hours of sleep and healthy food are also a part of my job.

What are your three most important tips for all those wanting to participate in a mountain bike marathon next year?

• Prepare yourself well for the race, start training in good time, yet make sure you are rested at the start of the competition.
• In the race itself, don’t start too quickly and pace yourself so you are well able to make it to the finishing line.
• And take a look at the nature around you now and again. Mountain bike marathons normally take place in very beautiful regions and offer an incomparable nature experience.

The cross-country discipline has become well known to the general public since the Olympic Games and Nino Schurter’s victory. What are the differences between your discipline, the marathon, and the cross-country discipline in terms of preparation, equipment, racing tactics and eating and drinking?

The cross-country cyclist’s training is probably more targeted than mine. This leads me to conclude that the majority of cross-country cyclists would find it easier to compete in the occasional marathon than the other way round. However, when it comes to cycling marathons or stage races week after week for an entire year, then your training needs to be more targeted.

As far as the equipment for a marathon is concerned, it is well worth staying on the safe side. Unlike in the cross country, it is not possible for us to take the ideal racing line or get to know every stone while cycling 100 kilometres or more. Even I am still constantly improving my tactics after ten years and in the meantime am able to benefit a lot from my experience. You need to learn and experience a lot, whereas in cross country, it’s a case of ready, steady, go!

Foto: ZVG