About the person
Karl Pötzl, 52, IT employee from Austria and ultra-cyclist. A multiple finisher in ultra-cycling races, he has also achieved the only double-Everesting in Austria to date.
Interview on the Everesting world record
TOUR: You actually wanted to do a 7-fold Everesting - why did you end up with eight?
Pötzl: The last night before my record attempt, I took another look at the Hall of Fame. I was struck by the fact that there was a 7-fold Everesting. Brand new, practically still warm. Then we'll just ride an 8-speed, I said out of youthful recklessness coupled with record lust.
TOUR: But you quickly realised how difficult it would be ...
Pötzl: Yes, I did the maths after the first night and realised that there was no time. I knew I had to be back in the office on Monday and there would never be enough time for eight Everestings. It was just raining and wet. When I was once again in danger of drowning in a torrent of rain, the barrel was figuratively full: I told my supervisor that I was cancelling. Fortunately, she re-motivated me and I was later given the day off on Monday.
TOUR: How much sleep did you get in total?
Pötzl: In total, it was 8.5 hours. That doesn't include the times I fell asleep on the bike. The second night was terrifying: I realised that I was much more prone to microsleep when cycling downhill. On a later night, I also had to stop on the uphill and slept with my head on the handlebars for five minutes. After four days, my eyelids felt like a weight was hanging from them. But on the seventh Everesting, it was as if a switch had been flicked. I was wide awake, ready to perform and chatted cheerfully with my companion.
TOUR: How did you cater for yourself?
Pötzl: Liquid food every hour and iso drinks. Because an Everesting world record is not primarily about the finishing time, I treated myself to the odd goodie: for example, I sometimes had a piece of sausage with spicy mustard.
Everesting world record earlier than expected
TOUR: It was only by chance that you realised that you had already made it
Pötzl: That was curious. It was Monday evening and my bike computer read 1781 kilometres. At around 9pm, I was summoned to base camp by my crew. In my opinion, 16 more ascents were necessary, but they had done the maths and told me: Karl, you're done. All the calculations said that the necessary 71,000 metres had been achieved.
TOUR: You write on social media that you didn't switch up front - why?
Pötzl: I don't need a large chainring on the climbs and it was only a roller on the descents, in favour of regeneration. I did briefly consider neutering my 2x drivetrain at the front and removing the disc and derailleur to reduce the weight. However, it was ultimately too much effort for me and I thought to myself "it won't fail." However, I didn't shift a single gear at the front over the entire 1800 kilometres.
TOUR: Why do you call yourself Gustav Gans in the Everesting Hall of Fame?
Pötzl: The Everesting Hall of Fame takes the data from Strava. I've had Strava for a long time, when I wasn't yet so intensively involved in cycling. Back then, I was looking for an anonymous name on Strava. Gustav Gans came to mind spontaneously. The name has remained on Strava to this day - and will continue to do so.
TOUR: How long did it take you to recover?
Pötzl: One week until I was able to make a small attempt at cycling. Two weeks until basic performance was almost feasible again and my toes were still numb after three weeks.
Fancy your own Everesting? Here you can find Training tips.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
