Report on professional sport: What crises do and how professional cyclists deal with them

Marlen Reusser was not in the saddle when gold was at stake in Paris. She was eating sweet steamed dumplings with her family and watching the television, which was broadcasting images of rainy streets and falling competitors. Shortly before, she had felt "self-pity" and then, she laughs, she had seen these images of the Olympic rain time trial. She was sitting there with her "great family", as she says, and there was vanilla sauce. A familiar setting on a difficult day.

Shattered dreams, missed career goals

Shattered dreams, missed career goals. For competitive athletes, they are among life's greatest challenges. Emanuel Buchmann was caught out this season when he was denied the promised Giro start by his team at short notice. His public complaint was followed by the end of his contract. Primož Roglič's repeated failure to win the Tour this year - or the ambitions and wishes of all the other athletes and the longing of the public: "Failure, failures and missed goals are very relevant for athletes," says Dr Katharina Hösl, psychiatrist at the clinic of the private Paracelsus University in Nuremberg, "it is very helpful to deal with these issues." In Nuremberg, Hösl and her colleagues advise athletes on anxiety and depression related to their careers. "It generally makes sense to deal with these issues in the familiar training environment," says psychiatrist Hösl.

Shattered dream

The interview with Marlen Reusser takes place the day after the Olympic individual time trial. The Swiss rider, who is actually the measure of all things in this discipline, has had a year of disappointments behind her, and 27 July was her fixed date. "For years, I've had the goal of riding my best race in Paris in my best form, to win Olympic gold," she says. But instead of preparing for the sporting highlight in an organised manner, her hopes were dashed bit by bit. Reusser, a doctor and career changer in professional sport, had already won silver in Tokyo 2021, and gold had been her big project ever since.

There wasn't one day when I realised that it was going to be difficult. - Marlen Reusser

However, she contracted Covid at the beginning of 2024; when she was halfway fit again, she crashed heavily at the Tour of Flanders. Things got a little better after that. This was followed in May by a "shitty series of infections". As she now knows, Reusser has a post-infectious syndrome, an obscure combination of infections, weakness and helplessness. Since the spring, she has been in a gradual process of saying goodbye to big goals. "There was never a day when I realised that things were getting difficult. Sometimes things got a little better, then a little worse - but time passed slowly. You keep asking yourself the question: what else is possible now? It's a slow process of understanding and saying goodbye to ambitions. It's brutal."

Reusser seems sorted, she can speak well about her difficult situation. On the other hand, she talks about how she repeatedly wanted nothing to do with her sport; how she thought she had overcome the worst and then could hardly look away when the Olympic race started. "It's not smart to be complacent," she says, and yet it seems like a big task for her to accept it. Reusser talks about the "serenity prayer" that she keeps trying to tell herself: What you can change, you change - what you can't change, you accept. "That's what reason tells me, but of course I often feel differently - and then I consistently try to tell myself that." Her big dream has been shattered, but a second one still lives at the back of her mind. Perhaps she will at least manage to compete at the Road World Championships in her home city of Zurich. "But at the same time, we all know that it won't be easy," says Reusser. Zurich 24 has also been a dream for her for a long time.

There was no room for Paul Voß

But what happens when the big goals are suddenly no longer achievable? Paul Voß also had one thing in his sights in 2016: the road race at the Summer Olympics in Rio. His dream was not to win a medal, but to be there. "I had already planned my whole year around it from the winter," recalls Voß. But at the end of June, he was informed by the German Cycling Federation that track sprinter Maximilian Levy had been moved to the road squad for medal tactical reasons. This was understandable for the federation, but Voß felt it was a bitter setback. What happened afterwards was a "slide into disappointment" that led to his retirement as a professional road rider at the end of the season. Voß, an established German rider at Bora-Argon 18 at the time, was in his "contract year" and felt stalled as far as his prospects in the team were concerned. He rode strongly at the Tour de France, even taking the mountain jersey on one stage. "But I realised during the Tour that something was simmering, and there was some miscommunication between the team, my management and myself." The result was harsh: the team signed superstar Peter Sagan in a coup, leaving no room for Paul Voss - a rather low earner. There was also no need for generalists like him elsewhere in the professional peloton. And he didn't want to sign on with smaller teams with even lower pay. "How much more should I put into this sport?" he asked himself. Voss ended his career as a professional road cyclist at the age of 30.

"It wasn't actually that bad, because I had been gradually preparing myself for something else." Voß didn't want to bob around in professional sport, but made the cut himself. For five years, he did other jobs related to the discipline, commentated on television and was sports director. Then three years ago, at the age of 35, he became a professional athlete again - in the trend sport of gravel. Seen from the outside, it was a second spring, an upswing for the seasoned athlete. Voß achieved strong victories and came third at the European Championships in 2023. "Competing against riders who are world-class on the road makes me extremely proud," he says. But despite his history, he is not immune to major disappointments. "I'm just a hugely emotional person, and when things don't go my way, it really gets to me." This applies to the entire 2024 season, which began with illness and has not gone well since then. He could now say: You've built up so much, it's not so bad.

I'm a hugely emotional person, and when things don't work out, it really gets to me. - Paul Voss

"But I'm an athlete through and through, and I'm still hung up on the results." This is also the case in the supposedly relaxed Gravel: Expectations rise with success, both your own and those of your sponsors. And when you're fighting for new contracts like Voß, bad luck and failures are huge psychological stressors. "It's such an unhealthy spiral, because it's simply not sustainable," says Voß, who recognises this dynamic but can't quite break free from it yet.

Change of perspective

It's interesting that Marlen Reusser is calling back - and that's an important aspect of this story. It's a shame, she says, that TOUR has never featured her in a story about the positive sides, about medals, about her rise in professional sport. "And now that I've missed my goal, this is the first time we're talking," says Reusser. It is an aspect that is important to her: what the public does to athletes, how the focus is often on unachieved goals and shattered dreams, while the athletes have a completely different view of their achievements and accomplishments.

Tony Martin and Olympic silver

From the outside, one could also attribute shattered dreams to Tony Martin. The media had labelled him as a gold candidate for the Olympic time trial, and after his victory in Paris-Nice 2012 he was also proclaimed as a possible Tour captain. "I recognised that and I followed up on it.

But looking back, I never felt comfortable with it, and as a result I wasn't successful," he recalls. He ticked off the circuit rider project in particular under "trial and error", "I was already very stable back then, I knew my qualities and what I was capable of". So Tony Martin is not an incomplete, he leaves no doubt about that, he speaks very firmly: "My dream was always to become world champion, and I achieved that. Of course, Olympic gold was also a goal, but it was just one of many," says the trained police master. The fact that he came so close to this victory in London 2012 is more of a source of pride for him today. This is because he had broken the scaphoid bone in his left hand at the Tour de France shortly beforehand and had also fallen again during training in London. "Silver and my experiences at the Olympics are some of the best memories of my career," says Martin.

Silver and my experiences at the Olympics are some of the best memories of my career. - Tony Martin

Psychological problems, depression, anorexia, dizziness and headaches

"It was five years, at least," says Dominik Nerz about the time it took him to get over the abrupt end of his professional career. His story is well known, in the book "Gestürzt" (Crashed) you can read how the Allgäuer went from being an up-and-coming German talent to a psychological and physical problem case. In his last role as captain for tours with the German team Bora-Argon 18, he never made it; team boss Ralph Denk and his team were unable to find the right way to deal with the crisis.

I haven't failed in my career, I've achieved quite a lot. - Dominik Nerz

At the age of 27, Nerz ended his life as a competitive athlete, suffering from mental health problems, depression, anorexia, dizziness and severe headaches. "Up to that point, there was only cycling, that's what I lived for, that's what I loved," Nerz remembers the bitter end. "Then I was faced with nothing, with a completely new start."

Today, a good seven years later, Nerz is open-minded and in a good mood. It hasn't been that way for long, maybe two years. He likes to tell his story because he hopes it will inspire other people in crisis. He is "very happy" to watch the sport again, which he turned his back on immediately after his active career, and he follows Tour stages. "Sometimes with nostalgia, of course, because I also rode up the mountains." He is moved by setbacks, such as Primož Roglič or Emanuel Buchmann. "I hope they can say at some point that it was worth persevering for so long." In order to gain a new perspective on his life after his unwanted retirement, Nerz initially went to an inpatient clinic. "We discussed from scratch what a life outside of professional sport could look like." Nerz, who had previously had nothing to do with a middle-class existence and saw himself as incapable of relationships, felt "like the first man on earth". He spent months and years searching for his path. He read books on personal development and listened to podcasts. Today, he finally describes himself as a happy person who lives his life consciously.

What he has realised above all: "I haven't failed in my career, I've achieved a lot." He rode the Vuelta three times and finished the Tour de France once - his childhood dream. He was part of the team with which Peter Sagan won the green jersey in 2012. Nerz understands that, he can see it that way now. "The only thing I'm missing in this career is a personal finish, a final Tour like Simon Geschke's, where I could have said I'm riding this Tour consciously and savouring every impression." But he can't turn back time. When he was striving for the top in professional sport, he rushed from peak to peak, there were no breaks. "I didn't really recognise any of my successes." That, says Nerz, is very different today. After his new start, he fulfilled a childhood dream: he opened a restaurant with his mother. He ran this project successfully, but also ended it of his own free will. Today he works in sales, a completely different job, and soon there will be another career change, says Nerz. He talks about it like someone who is looking forward to the new. And also like someone who is still aiming high. "What I still dream of now is finding absolute professional fulfilment, where I get up euphorically, no matter how difficult the tasks are."

Interview: How we can deal with setbacks

Dr Katharina Hösl is a psychiatrist and treats competitive athletes, among others. In this interview, she explains how you can learn from failure to be prepared for future crises.

Interview: Tim Farin

TOUR: Dr Hösl, you provide psychiatric support for athletes. What happens when your patients miss big goals?

Dr Hösel: Failure, failure, perhaps even the feeling of failure are always relevant topics. It is very helpful, especially for competitive athletes, to deal with these issues with professional support. It is often the case that these people experience a prolonged stressful situation when they have not achieved a major goal or a big dream has been shattered. However, we also experience acute crises in connection with setbacks caused by injuries.

TOUR: That means a lasting negative feeling can develop ...

Dr Hösel: Absolutely. Basically, athletes, like all people, deal with missing goals in very different ways. Many people have these negative thoughts, including frustration. What follows from this varies greatly. For some, negative feelings, disappointment and a sense of failure persist. Or there is even the feeling of having disappointed coaches, family members and fans. On the other hand, we also see athletes deal with such missed goals in a positive and constructive way. Failure then provides meaning, an opportunity for sporting and personal development.

TOUR: Should you also prepare for possible failures during training?

Dr Hösel: This is definitely helpful in competitive sport and an important field in sports psychology. Mental coaches can help when it comes to thinking through and discussing possibilities: athletes can then adjust better mentally when things go completely differently than planned despite the best training and organisation.

TOUR: Doesn't that take the athletes' focus away from winning?

Dr Hösel: No, because the topic doesn't take hours or days. The point is to consider and think through these possibilities in the preparation. If something undesirable then happens, it is easier to deal with such a situation.

TOUR: Does the experience of disappointment help you deal with further setbacks?

Dr Hösel: Failure can be dealt with constructively, and this is definitely a resilience factor that enables people to cope well with further disappointments. We see that people come out of it positively strengthened. There are great examples of athletes who have won on a sporting and personal level. That is worthy of recognition.

TOUR: To what extent do athletes suffer from the pressure of public expectation?

Dr Hösel: This can be considerable. We sports psychiatrists and psychologists recommend maintaining a healthy distance, especially from social media. Social media and the media often convey a lot of negativity, personal devaluation and sometimes even hatred when sporting goals are not achieved. It is important for athletes to view this often frightening negativity as a phenomenon of today's social media world that has absolutely nothing to do with their own person or the athlete and their performance.