Hannah Ghazi-Idrissi: "I made all the rookie mistakes"

Hannah Ghazi-Idrissi found her way from triathlon via bikepacking to ultracycling. In 2024, she was the first woman and 6th overall in the Taunus Bikepacking. She covered around 1000 kilometres with 20,000 metres of elevation gain in four days, two hours and 25 minutes. Parallel to the world of ultracycling, she developed a taste for shorter gravel races. At her debut, the Wörthersee Gravel, she qualified directly for the 2024 Gravel World Championships. Naturally, she also took part in the World Championships at the beginning of October.

Her joy of cycling is her constant companion - even when faced with extreme challenges, she never loses her smile. This can also be heard in the Sitzfleisch podcast, in which podcast hosts and ultra-cyclists Christoph Strasser and Florian Kraschitzer talk to her about her two participations in the Three Peaks Bike Race, among other things.

How often can you break a nose?

But she has also suffered setbacks, particularly to her nose. Before the Seven Serpents 2023, Hannah fell and broke her nose. The surgery date was after the next event, the Bohemian Border Bash Race - 2 months later. "You can do anything, but under no circumstances should you break your nose again," emphasised the surgeon.

But things turned out differently. At the Bohemian Border Bash Race 2023, two months after the first crash, she hurtled over a "bridge that was a little too wet" at "a little too much speed". The end of the story was: face 0: bridge railing 1. In other words, her nose was flattened and the orbital floor was broken (floor of the eye socket). The fractures were treated conservatively, i.e. without surgery. Complaints such as not being able to breathe through the nose remained and so an operation finally took place a few weeks ago, during which the whole thing was broken and repaired in a controlled manner. Even now, although it has not yet healed, it is much better. Toitoitoi that this was the last nose fracture in Hannah's life.

When Hannah isn't cycling, which is often the case with a full-time job, she can be found in hospital - and not just fixing fractures. She is currently between her studies and specialist training. In Austria, you have to rotate through departments as a "basic doctor". Hannah then specialises in neuroradiology.

In this interview, she talks about her experiences, what appeals to her about ultracycling and how she made the leap to shorter gravel races.

"I do this voluntarily and am privileged to be here"

You achieved an impressive result at Taunus Bikepacking, among others. What appeals to you about ultracycling and how do you manage to stay happy on the bike despite the extreme exertion?

Of course, I'm not always happy either! I would rather say I have a high level of resilience and try not to forget, even under extreme pressure, that I am doing all of this voluntarily and how privileged I am to be here. Above all, I remind myself that with a positive attitude, no challenge is infinite or insurmountable. Whenever I have a lull in motivation, I ask myself: "Would you really rather be somewhere else right now?" The answer is almost always "No" - I want to prove to myself that I am stronger than my inner voice. And if the answer is yes, I eat something first (Snickers) - after that, the world usually looks completely different again!

From ultracycling to UCI gravel competitions - how did you acquire a taste for shorter gravel races?

I actually came across this short gravel race by chance - I won two starting places for the Wörthersee Gravel in a competition, so I had to take part. It was only my second real bike race, where you ride handlebar to handlebar with the others in the field. I was really scared and made what felt like all the rookie mistakes - for example, I lost all my food at the 15th kilometre and hardly drank because I was so stressed. I didn't have any fun at first. It was only after I got over the system shock and understood a bit about how to cycle in a race like this that I got into it. Nobody expected me to qualify for the World Championships on my first attempt!

Short or long

How do the challenges of shorter, intensive gravel races differ for you compared to the long bikepacking adventures?

In ultra races, mental strength and resilience are almost more important than what you have in your legs. You have to learn to cope with yourself and persevere, even when it gets uncomfortable. I actually only cycle at a basic level and try to avoid intense exertion - and enjoy nature much more, away from people.

UCI gravel races, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. It's all about short, explosive efforts, you have to ride constantly at the limit to be able to keep up and interact with the other women (at least for a short time haha).

As I have hardly any experience of riding in the field, I often lack the necessary assertiveness to maintain my position - which is important before singletrail sections or tight bends, for example, so that I don't have to invest unnecessary energy in getting back on the bike. At least I don't really notice anything of the nature next to the trails. You also need a certain amount of mental strength here, but I've decided to simply switch my head off and suffer along until I fall off the back.

Plans 2025

After your successes in 2024, what's on your radar for 2025?

I really enjoy both types of race. I find the shorter races useful as preparation for long races in terms of training, and of course they are also easier to combine with a full-time job. I would be lying if I didn't admit that qualifying for the Gravel World Championships again in 2025 is also a small goal of mine. At the same time, I'm also tempted to go on a really long journey again (> 2000 km). Let's see how it turns out in the end - I still have a bit of time to plan the next season.