In this week’s episode we talk to German pro gravel rider, Carolin Schiff, about:
– Her epic Unbound 2023 win
– How she got into the gravel scene from triathlon, road cycling & cyclo-cross
– How she fuels for races
– What’s up next for 2024!
German bike shop owner Carolin Schiff exploded on the US gravel scene in 2023 when she won the Unbound. But she was no stranger to the bike. With a background in triathlon, road biking and cyclo-cross, Carolin enjoyed a successful career in Europe on the road, but it was in 2023 that she joined the Canyon gravel team, and started the season with a massive win at the UCI Gravel World Series in Spain, followed by taking the top spot at the Traka 200, and then taking 2nd at the UCI Gravel World Series. Then she came to the States with a win at Gravel Locos in Texas before heading to Unbound. As the season starts for 2024, Carolin looks forward to taking on several races in Europe and the States, and defending her title at Unbound Gravel.
Please note that this podcast is created strictly for educational purposes and should never be used for medical diagnosis and treatment.
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Mentioned:
– Get 10% off any Meal Plan, Mini Course or Recipe Book at Nutritional-Revolution.com with code NEWPOD10, including our most popular 1 Week Real Food, Real Quick Meal Plan : https://nutritional-revolution.com/product/1-week-real-food-real-quick-meal-plan/
– Racing soon? Book a free 15 minute call to see how we can help.
Connect w/ Carolin:
– IG: www.instagram.com/carolinschiff
– Headed to Bremen, Germany? Visit Carolin’s bike shop, Riha Bikes: https://rihabikes.de/
– AUTSAID Podcast with Carolin Schiff & Paul Voß (German language): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/autsaid-gravel-podcast/id1650996294
Products Mentioned:
– Maurten Gels (Caffeinated and Non): Available on The Feed
– Maurten Drink Mix (Carolin uses the 320): Available on The Feed
– PowerBar Recovery Max: https://amzn.to/4ciJTXI
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Welcome back everybody we are super excited to have with us Carolyn Schiff did I say that right yes it’s correct yay we Amanda and I both have a friend named Carolyn as well and she is from Germany right Amanda oh really yes yeah um and um you are tuning in from Germany
You said yes from the north of Germany from brayman oh and is it cold in Germany right now um it’s around 10° but very gray and some rain so not the nicest weather I prefer to stay somewhere else for training yeah I switch a bit between mayorca and Brean
Oh nice a beautiful amazing um okay well as our listeners know our two trist and Li we usually start out with that so before we start learning too much about um your routines history all that fun stuff um why don’t you go ahead and break down for us your two truths and a
Lie um yes so um when I was a teenager I hated cycling and preferred to lay on the beach during holidays okay so that’s the first um I did most of my school time uh on a Catholic private school and was taught by nuns okay and and I like
Playing chess during my free time okay okay these are all good ones we’ve never had um it’s not so much sport I thought it’s maybe nice this is great from the from the normal yes I love it this is yeah and they’re all very unique ones too um
I think I could like I could see the first one being true cuz I could I think I’m on your level on that one to when I was a teen just want to chillax hang out with my friends um yes Catholic School TP by nuns what do you think Amanda what are
You leaning towards I am gonna say I’m gonna go with the chess like maybe it’s a different like maybe like back G or some other some other game or something private Catholic school so I’m gonna go with that that one okay I kind of I feel
Like maybe yeah I’m gonna go with Amanda on this one but don’t tell us the answer yet we’ll reveal it for the answers at the end we’re thinking the LIE is the chest but we will see um so why don’t you and this might reveal some of your
Truths or lies who knows um but take us back a little bit where didd you grow up what got you excited about getting on a bike and cycling and competing uh um yes I grew up in Germany in Hanover so it’s near where I now live
Like 100 kilometers I think for us uh for the US people it’s really near for us it’s it’s far away but yeah it’s not too far um and I I grew up with uh I went to to a swimming school so that was my first yeah my first sports I did uh
Like yeah competitive mhm um yeah so I have two yeah two um yeah have a brother and a sister and um yeah are you oldest middle or youngest yeah I’m the middle middle aome yeah I have a younger brother and an older sister and my sister already has two um yeah two
Children so I have two nephews nice really cute yeah that’s great and um with the swimming what um did you do that all through like was it high school or what do they call it something different in Germany I’m actually not sure um I stopped pretty early because I
Think I was like 10 or 11 when I stopped and I started with 4 because we moved to another town and my parents were not so supportive with my sports they had yeah a bit other plans for me so they don’t wanted to yeah to take me to the
Swimming pool and then I had to stop I think that was really a shame because I had some talent and then I stopped doing sports at all so yeah that was yeah I think uh that’s also a little bit yeah it’s a shame but now it is like it is
And I found it I found it back but yeah and how old were you when you got um like interested and getting on the bike more often and then like racing um that was pretty late I yeah I was I think when I was starting with racing I was already
21 and started on the bike with 18 because um before I was running just yeah for fun and some com competitions but I had a a knee injury then and then I bought my first bike and uh did it like yeah recovery for running MH um and
Then I discovered that it’s also nice and uh the triathlon um then I yeah I knew or I I I met my boy my my boyfriend or my partner now and uh he was a bike racer so then I started racing my bike and did lots of competitions did it on International
Level wow and yeah then I found grael racing yeah and um was there much gravel happening at the time um like near you in Germany at all or did you was your first gravel in the United States um gravel started in Germany with I think with Corona I did my first gravel event
Um it was uh near Germany in the Czech Republic in 2020 MH it was also very long it was not a real race but also I did it competitive and I discovered that these long distances and this adventure character is something I really like but then I returned to road racing because I
Was in a team and did not follow the gravel pass and here we did not have that much events for gravel it started in 2022 and 2023 when I started was the first season where there was really a a race calendar for us also here in Europe
Wow but my first gravel race was actually my first real grael race was in the Netherlands it was in UCI grael race I did in end of 2022 MH and I yeah I won this one so that was also nice and then 2023 started yeah and then it was a great season yeah
In um in 2023 did you do the whole Grand Prix like series no I just did Unbound because I wasn’t really in all the yeah I I did not know a lot about everything like that I did not know that there’s a lifetime Grand PRI I just started and I
Had the contract with Kenyan because they trusted me because I mean they did not know if I can race well well or not but they gave me all the trust wow and uh I started and then I went to Unbound which was uh the most important race for
Kenyon and also for me and when I wanton it then we saw okay it’s uh it’s good it’s that’s awesome wow that’s great and um I definitely want to dive into the 2023 Unbound situation because I know it was like every type of weather Under the
Sun um but before we get down kind of into that rabbit hole um I kind of learning more about you um and reading some articles um there was mentions of kind of like a regular like or maybe like a recurrent injury stuff that was going on um was that H happening in
Cycling for you or or was that kind of like way back with the running in the knee stuff no the knees the knee was okay when I started cycling and then it was fine um I had a lot bad luck during my whole cycling career with um with
Injuries first I was uh hit by a car very H oh no so yeah then I wasn’t able it was in 20 4 I I had I at this time I made the step into the national team here in Germany and I had the chance to race International for the first time in
The national uh Jersey I was very proud of it and then this happened and I was completely out wow and I thought okay I want to stop cycling but uh then I after half a year I discovered that I’m yeah that I love cycling and started again
Yeah then I buil up again and uh was good again and then uh I had like three other collar bone or broken collar bones in man ouch yeah it was like every time when I was fit or something really good happened I broke my collar bone it’s
It’s part of my whole career I think it was also I mean maybe you you saw it last year also before words yeah I was really in a good shape and I broke my colone so I don’t know what’s going on but shoot I have a special talent for
Crashing when it’s yeah when there’s a when I’m in a good shape and opportunities for me yeah I have seen that that’s interesting you bring that up um I think it was kind of towards the end of was it last year Amanda where we had I think like our clients were like
Getting really fit they were getting really like confident and they and you know um Fitness was really high toward towards the end of the season and then they’re kind of like taking going a little bit faster taking a little bit more risks and we had two clients like
Relatively close to each other but in time but like one lives in a like several States over from another and they don’t don’t know one another but one crash and breaks his collar bone I think he was trying to send a jump like show off on his birthday unfortunately
Another one that crashed um on the road and he had you know a lot of broken bones and stuff like ribs and wrist and but yeah I was yours towards the end of the season as well or was it yeah yeah it was just I just had European
Championships it was right before the race and then words but yeah the bad thing was that I was in altitude camp and put a lot effort or a big effort in getting into my best shape ever and then this happened yeah but yeah I don’t yeah
It’s it’s like it is and I can deal with it so I learned from my previous injuries to to deal with it and to get back and that it’s not uh too bad for me I now I I I really know how to come back so yeah that’s the the good thing that
I’m so used in it yeah that’s I mean the mindset around an injury can yeah really make or break an athlete um depending on how they approach it so I mean that’s a big big learning experience and takeaway mentally how how have you shifted your mindset around the injury or those like
Last the last injury you had to kind of like help yourself get through it yeah it was for me I in yeah first I saw okay and why me and the B all the bad um thoughts but then I just thought okay I need to be thankful for everything that
Happened during the season and I had a great season I had so great moments and my life yeah changed a lot during the season into a good way for me and I just had to take these thoughts and don’t care about everything else and yeah a
Coll a a collar bone is something that heals pretty well so there are you can have worse things I think that’s how I deal with it and then it’s fine yeah good for you I I think that’s like that’s such a powerful mindset honestly to have and and I think that’s a winning
Mindset to be able to see the the winds and the silver lining in situations like that can really um help you get through it that much faster and yeah I think that’s really that’s awesome um with injuries from a nutrition Andor like movement standpoint um were you doing
Like indoor trainer rides were you adjusting your nutrition or supplementation routine to help with the recovery process what was that like yeah I I uh I try to yeah to support my body body with more like calcium MH that’s what the doctors told me that I maybe need to focus on that
But in general I just uh just try to eat as uh good as possible and as much as possible that my body has all the yeah all the I don’t know how to say all the vitamines and it needs for the recovery and then it’s fine I think you don’t need to be
To do special things if you are healthy yeah yeah I think you got to just make sure you’re hitting all the like you’re saying like the building blocks for that thing that’s broken so if it’s bone then yeah the calcium and just making sure you’re getting in enough energy to help
Repair that that thing so uh yeah that’s great and then let’s see so let’s now we can kind of like jump forward in time a little bit to last year’s Unbound when you were from from an overall like training and racing view of last year was Unbound
Like your a race for the year was there other races that you were doing leading up to that race or what was that like um yeah Unbound was actually my uh most important race and we marked this into the calendar as yeah as a a race M um
Also because uh Kenyon was supporting it or it was also yeah part of of the contract that this is the most important race um before I I knew Unbound but I did not know that it’s so important for everyone and also for for the brands and everything yeah and before Unbound I had
Uh the tracker in Jona like um like a race which was also very important but more like a yeah like a training or yeah like like U yeah training for Unbound but I was able to win that um two and it was my first real long race because
Truer is 200 kilometers MH and um so that was like a test and I noticed that it works really well and that I have the shape and then I did grav a Locos it was 250 it was even longer and then I saw okay I can do that and then I knew that
I’m in shape for Unbound that’s awesome was the tracka is that is that a multi-day event or is it with the SP one um there are different um different routes or tracks but uh we did the 200 kilometers and it’s one day so I
I think I did it in 6 hours 30 wow and uh for this year they have also a very long race it’s probably about one or two days then oh wow depends on the guys who yeah if they want to sleep or not but yeah that’s great and so um with
Unbound kind of lead last year you had your uh Canyon sponsor gear all the gear figured out um kind of prepping for something like that and having had that experience of gravel Locos and traa um how were you from a transportation perspective um were you planning at
Stopping at any of the aid stations um or were you going to carry everything on you the whole way no we made we made the plan with Kenyon they had um support team in in all the two a stations and um I made a strict plan with what I take at
Which time so I had a backpack with sration and I changed that backpack uh in the first aid station and uh I changed also my bottles M so um yeah I had a uh really strict plan with how many cups and liquid I take at one time yeah did you from a
With your um pack bladder is that a four liter that you were carrying or H it’s 1.5 liter oh 1.5 wow the backpack yeah and I yeah I changed it in the first and in the second I gave it away so I had uh
Two of them and then I had uh the bottle changes in every feed station wow completely do you do two bottles on your bike yes two bottles and uh one big and one small because my bike is so small I can’t carry too big yeah I know that
Situation um and with kind of from a energy standpoint perspective what products are you using or did you use an Unbound that worked well for you from a fueling perspective yeah I have my partner Morton oh nice yeah so yeah I I uh completely use their products and I’m
Really good with the drink mix because I think it’s uh perfect to fill during the race that you can take it uh yeah like with a drink the cups and then I uh use the jails in the in the race and that’s it I just use drink mix and jails wow
And um with your bladder do you put Martin drink mix in your bladder or is that do you keep that plain water usually no I also put drink mix in yeah first in tracka I just did water but uh I I saw that it’s uh or in another rice
Tracka not in another rice I well I started with just doing with water because I thought maybe it’s not the henic to do a drink mix in but for for Unbound I put drink mix in because I needed the Cs yeah and did you have to add any
Electrolyte product on top of that I know Martin has not the highest amount of sodium but you were fine yeah I I did not uh add some something so I don’t have any problems with that so it’s fine like it is that’s good do you I know Martin has two types
Right the uh was it the 160 and the 320 or something like that their drink mixes which one do you kind of prefer that works well for you or do you mix them up yeah for the race uh I always uh choose the 320h and uh in training I it depends how
How intense my training session is yeah that’s great and um Martin has the caffeinated gels too do you um use those on course at all and if so how do you time those yeah I’m I really like the cuff G gels um and I use them during the race
Up to s for of them not not more because uh then it’s a little bit too much yeah and uh um I I prefer to take them yeah to the end of the race and I always half an hour before I would like to have the
Impact of them and then yeah for me it’s it’s really going well that’s great yeah and with something like Unbound I have to ask how did you what did you think when you hit the mud section did you just bike right through it or how did
You did you know that was going to be there no it was crazy I I knew that there’s much and I knew that a lot people made a really big deal before of it and I saw okay it’s mut can’t be so bad because I’m a cyc cross racer here in in during
Winter time and I Know M but yeah I did not know that much so when I went in my bike was completely blocked and yeah it was it was crazy I I thought yeah that can be really bad in the end because you can have Mechanicals and yeah yeah but
Yeah I was really happy when I went uh out of the M section but I did not know where I am in the race and what I’m doing so I just keep pedaling yeah and then yeah I I think after 100 kilometers I found found the front of the race then
Nice and with the mud situation did you were you trying to like get it off your bike or with like the paint sticks I people had yeah I had I had nothing with me oh sh yeah that was a bit uh bad plan because one friend of mine um he asked
Me in the morning if I have something with me and I was like ah I don’t need so I went without anything and then I did it with my fingers and yeah it worked but yeah my finger my na were well done in the end yeah man and um did
Did you have to walk your bike at all in any of that section or were you over in the grass yeah um partly I was able to ride in the on the side in the grass but there were also really big Stones so one time I really crashed uh on that stone
And went over the handlebar so it was yeah it was just luck that my my wheel uh did not break yeah or your collar bone again oh my collar bone again that was would be even worse yeah uh um but then I always yeah you you had to really
Figure out when is it time to try to write again the bike because if you are too early and the mud is really bad then you have the same thing with all the mud on the bike again and have to clean it again so it was really like checking
Before if it if you are able to write wow goodness yeah that I we did the Unbound but like not not the 200 last year and we yeah we we came across the mud after like hundreds of thousands of people had already smashed through it so
It was a disaster but um yeah quite quite the uh environmental conditions at that that race too did you were you out there still with when it like was hailing and Rain yeah it started in the end um yeah was another mut section I think 40ks before the end of the race uh
And then also the big thunderstorm started and it was crazy I thought maybe it’s not very uh secure anymore here everything but yeah okay I have to go yeah but I also saw people on the side which uh were not uh or which stopped because they yeah they
Were afraid I think yeah yeah such a wild wild one and from um yeah from a hydration of fueling perspective thinking about the different environmental conditions because I think at one point too they clocked the heat during the day was like 108 degrees too so it like got really hot and yeah
That’s a wild one to so you didn’t within that race like you never experienced any like muscle cramping or any GI issues or anything like that with those varying temperature no nothing that was yeah that was awesome the only thing I had was back pain but was
Because of the running with a bike I think and um yeah because I was not used to do that and then I tried to carry it one time and it was so heavy I think it was like I don’t know it was too heavy
For me to carry and then I had back pain and uh it started with maybe 100 after 100K it started immediately and I did not know how to handle it I can’t I was just able to to cycle with standing and then sitting again and wow I thought okay
When it’s maybe I can’t finish the race because it was really bad wow but after some yeah after I think 200ks it was better and then then it was okay but when I came in into the Finish after the finish I was wasn’t able to walk because
My back was so blocked it was crazy yeah what did you do kind of after the race then to take care of that was it just lots of rest or you stretching mobilizing that kind of stuff yeah first I had to travel with all my bags and
Things like that alone so that was also not ideal for my back shoot and then at home I tried to just yeah stretch a bit and try to recover but I had to go I think two days after I arrived back home I had to do to go to the next race to
Finland wow so I just uh yeah prayed that my back will be better and then it was better wow but but I talked to my coach what we can do better and uh yeah we um we figured out a stretching program that it’s maybe not coming again yeah that’s
Good yeah get a handle on that and um kind of jumping back a little bit to the nutrition during the race do you um do you aim for so many like grams of carbs per hour I know you mentioned you have your plan with your hydration um is how
Does or do you have one also for your carb or caloric intake as well yeah I’ve uh I discussed it uh before with a nutrition coach um she supported me last year several times because um yeah I know her from my coach and so that was good she
Gave me advice how to um how much CS I should I should take during the one hour so I I went with 80 grams per hour nice awesome and yeah and also the hydration she she gave me a number and that worked well for me great that’s awesome yeah
The the carb world and carbon take per hour is such an evolving yes space it’s really fascinating to see it changed a lot it’s crazy for me it changed completely during the last days when when I think about how I did it the years before when I raised professional
On the road it’s completely different and I sometimes think uh why I did not know all these things before Oh man yeah and is it different in the sense that like there was less fueling before or was it different types of fueling that you’re doing with the road cycling both
Uh it was less to less and also just things I did not know because I was in teams where we did not had a special brand they just bought what they got and then they put it into our bottles we did not know how much is in and what is in
And yeah we just had to take it and sometimes in stage races I started and after the first day I had so bad stomach problems and just felt not good and I know if I had yeah this knowledge I have now I would have performed uh a lot
Better I think yeah yeah it’s amazing once you find a product that like works well with your digestive system when you’re pushing hard so and that you can stand like the consistency and flavor too once it like is8 degrees in your bottle yeah yeah um let’s see um so we
Talked about hydration and nutrition um did you do anything in preparation from a heat kind of um management perspective in leading up to the race outside of I mean gravel Locos was that a toasty was it pretty hot that yeah that was crazy because day before it was very hot I
Came from Germany and I arrived in Texas and it was so hot and I was thinking like how I mean I like heat but that was heat we don’t have in Europe I think yeah and then on race day it was really cold because the thunder storm came in
The night and uh it started like um in the yeah during the night and in the in the morning at 6:00 it was really really cold and I was freezing on the start line oh man during the race it was okay so there was no heat adaptation for un
Oh man shoot and um did you do anything on course to help cool you whether like when you met with your group at the aid stations is there over any like what I know some people do like the ice socks or does that yeah we had ice socks but
Um I did not really like that or yeah in the in the um on the KN I on the neck yeah yeah on the neck I liked it and then they also put it uh to my back because of the back pain but that was
Not ideal for me but yeah we we um we worked with this or walked with this that’s good yeah those are definitely helpful and um outside of the back pain after the race um what was your kind of um and what’s maybe typical for you actually poster race but um with
Regards to your recovery nutrition do you tend to have an appetite to get some nutrition in shortly after the race or are you someone who’s no appetite for a while yeah I’m I I actually have always appetite so I don’t have problems with this that’s great and after such race
I’m really looking forward to something salty because during the race you just have like uh this gels and liquid so I really looking forward always for pizza and I told my team when I was in the to in the finish that I need a pizza and they delivered me a
Pizza so that’s yeah that’s all I need but I also take a always a recovery Shake mhm like a protein recovery Shake yeah protein and cups awesome yeah is that a Martin product too I forget do they have a recovery no Martin does not have recovery products
Unfortunately yeah um what carbs do you mix in is it a powdered carb or do you do like real food kind of smoothie style carbs in your recovery um no it’s uh it’s pre premixed it’s from power bar I use this one oh nice mhm yeah yeah I I yeah my nutrition
Support yeah they she told me that this is a good one because yeah that’s great has everything I need and when I when my training was really intense I put a banana or I add a banana so that I I I increase cars a bit nice that’s awesome
And um now that the SE is the season started for you have you raced yet this year or are you looking forward to an upcoming race soon yeah I uh did One race in Juna but I did it completely like a training race or yeah not nothing
With a focus on yeah and um I’m looking forward to start my season in on 7 of April in Austria on UCI grael race yeah awesome and are you going to be coming to the states for any more gravel races yes I I’m I come from for Unbound for
Sure awesome and then also for um for spt and Colorado yeah that’s also something I’m really looking forward because I I do an altitude Camp Before the Race great yeah and then I’m thinking about the race in October also the the last race of the of
Thei the big sugar big sugar okay sugar yeah yeah because I saw it uh the all the the yeah I saw the race last year and it looked really really fun and was like a SE ending race so yeah maybe I don’t know yet yeah that um they usually
Ride mountain bikes on that one right no is that big sugar or no no okay maybe I’m thinking of when I’m right maybe you are right but I think the the last one I I’m talking about is with gravel race with gravel bikes yeah I think there’s um I’m
Picturing another one then that where they I remember they were on mountain bikes and it’s like a shorter I think it’s like 50 or 60 miles before I think one week before is one they do with mountain bikes mhm okay yeah and did you ever come from a mountain biking
Background at all or were you straight into like the triathlon road bike and then Road cycling I also did mountain bike like marathons yeah yeah nice but it’s hard to train it where I live because we have no trades and no technical things and just flat land so
It was hard to to be competitive in this um yeah yeah wow do you are you at altitude at all or are you lower no we are completely sea level the lowest part of Germany you’re on you’re like me um so okay so I have a couple quickfire
Questions and then we have time for our audience um listener questions then we can do our Tut trist and Al eye so quickfire questions will just be kind of like uh one or the other options so first one for example is do you prefer climbing or descending uh I prefer
Descending um do you prefer Solo or group rides um I like bows but group rides are more fun I think yeah yeah do you prefer tubis or tubes uh tubless I think everybody is tubeless these days I feel like feel smart um do you like a little
Mud on your Trails or do you like some Sandy dry um I’m I’m um muddy muddy U I think we might know the answer to this one but gel or a real food bar during training uh doing training uh a real food bar Real Food Bar jail yeah
And then um salt capsules or do you prefer to drink your electrolytes uh in the drink and then post-workout might know the answer this one too post-workout protein shake or real food meal both get it all in all right um Okay so some listener questions here um first
One we have is any advice for girls or women who are interested in getting into gravel biking and not sure where to start um I think it depends where you live here in Germany it’s uh yeah it’s not too easy to find uh to to get into
This sport but I would say it’s best to to find the yeah a group who’s uh doing gravel rights and uh yeah then yeah find a club where you can maybe find people who are going to races yeah awesome and let’s see how do you conquer any fears of intimidating Trail Sections um yeah I think you don’t need to think about too much about it so just do it and uh if you start to think too much about it it goes wrong so so yeah sometimes it’s just like uh close your eyes and do it but yeah actually I I can
Learn a lot still from with uh technical skills with uh on the uh yeah in in in gravel so I’m lucky that I have a for example next week a training camp with Kenyon uh we are just doing like technical things and that’s great bik yeah that’s awesome and uh let’s see
What your favorite dinner before a big training day or race um I’m a big fan of rice with Fish And um vegetables yummy awesome and kind of I’ll take a spin off that one what’s your um race morning breakfast that you like oats oats with banana nice very
Simp all right and last one is um what are your favorite snacks I guess this could be outside training outside training um cake every part of or every kind of cake I’m a big cake fan like apple pie or things like that yeah awesome keep the carbs coming
In to fuel fuel the engine there awesome so okay so those were all our listener questions so I’ll Circle us back to our two truth and the LI we had uh when you were teenager you hated cycling and prefer to lay on the beach during your holidays um that most most
Of your school time was in a Catholic private school taught by nuns and that you like playing chess on your free time Amanda and I thought the chess was the lie you right y That’s great um so when when you were a teen was it just like you wanted to
You just weren’t intoy didn’t find cycling yet at the time or yeah I I thought cycling is really yeah I I did not understand why people go upill on a bike I saw when I was in the car I thought okay why are they going on the
Bike it’s it’s so uncomfortable so yeah that’s funny and um do do you play any board games or things like that on your free time just chess is not one of them no I’m that was why I chose this live because I’m I’m really not a fan of
Playing games so my my family is a big fan of that and they always want to do that and I’m always like no I do other things yes follow me on the bike yes oh that’s funny um and then actually one thing I one of my questions um I think I
Was reading an article um do you also work full-time as well as as a pro athlete I did I did last year and um well I had a half half part job in the bike industry and um but I also have a bike shop was my partner awesome and so
But last year end of the year I stopped working with my other job and now I’m full professional with my bike shop so I when I have time I uh do things in the bike shop here and when I’m on the road I do everything I can do on the computer
Like yeah communication with clients and yeah claim awesome like that do you coach any clients or no no okay um and what’s the name of your bike shop for our any of our listeners in Germany it’s reab bikes yeahh bikes yeah it’s in bman really small shop but we are focused on
Gravel and uh Road and yeah high high performance that’s great awesome um and then let’s see going into this year you mentioned a couple races is what’s your um what is your a race for this year is it Unbound or yeah it’s Unbound and spt
SBT okay and also also my my um again I yeah last year I got National Champion gravel it was the first time we had it in Germany wow and yeah I would like to uh yeah to stay in the Jersey this year for sure awesome That’s so exciting um
Okay where can our listeners find you follow you all that fun stuff I think the best is on Instagram I’m there with my full name awesome and I also run a podcast with uh with my friend Paul fos he’s also a really good grael racer so we are talking about
Grael it’s in German okay last yeah sometimes we have also guests in uh in in English language but mostly in German but okay there we talk about everything what happened Amanda we can direct our our friend Carolyn to listen to the podcast guess cuz she speaks German our mountain biker friends um
Awesome well that’s so fun so we’ll put the links um for Caroline’s Instagram and the the show notes for our listeners so you guys can find and follow her and her journey and then um also I’ll just throw out um the YouTube series the lifetime Grand Prix series you were
Featured on there quite a few times too have you watched that yet from last year um you mean the the the from Unbound the yeah yeah yeah I saw that yeah yeah so they can watch that too the Unbound um episode of on YouTube um but yeah I
Think they did a good job with those those videos it’s nice yeah it’s really cool to see how it was and so it was yes yeah all the like Drone footage of the mud and yeah U really puts it into perspective but yeah this has been so
Fun talking and learning from you and um we’re excited to follow along on your racing this year and we’ll be we’ll be cheering from from afar um and thank you yeah thank you again so much for your time Carolyn thank you for having me