Gall wants to go to Kitz

“A meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be great”

Felix Gall is looking forward to a vacation after the long season.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

With two Grand Tours, 71 race days and 10,653 kilometers of racing, Felix Gall is one of the most frequent riders among the World Tour captains. Since the World Championships in Zurich, Austria's cycling star has been enjoying a break. In the "Krone" he talks about vacation plans, problems in the time trial, demands on the team and desired dates.

"Krone": Many Austrians take a cycling vacation, what does a professional cyclist do on vacation?
Felix Gall: "Definitely not cycling. It's good to have the bike in the corner. But I'm not quite on vacation yet, I still have several appointments to attend."

With training and racing, you're on the road almost 200 days a year. Do you still have any wanderlust?
"I haven't booked anything yet, I'll make a spontaneous decision after our team meeting on October 21. Until then, I'll be on vacation at home on the golf course."

You were last seen unaccompanied at the athletes' choice gala in Vienna. A coincidence?
"I'm traveling solo again. Alexandra and I split up on good terms a long time ago."

Last year, you received many invitations as Sportsman of the Year. Is there an event that would appeal to you?
"As a keen skier, I would have loved to experience the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel. I haven't managed to do that yet. It would be great if I could meet Arnold Schwarzenegger."

The next meeting of your Decathlon team is scheduled for October. Do you already have ideas for the new season?
"I've already had a say in the race program this year, but the focus was one hundred percent on the tour. But I want to choose my races even more consciously. The idea is to really be one hundred percent fit in the spring and not have to think about the Tour in July. I want to be at the start so that I can win races."

The time trial will also be an issue. Despite the wind tunnel tests, you weren't able to deliver the performance you had hoped for ...
"It just has to get better. The watts are basically there. If I could call up the watts that I can pedal on the mountain in the time trial, I would be right there. But I get numbness in my feet and lower legs."

How do you plan to get to grips with this?
"I'm not the first person to have this physical problem. There's a specialist in Belgium who has experience with this. He knows exactly where to start."