Time was always an important category for Michael Rich: as a professional cyclist, the man from Baden was the benchmark as a time trialist for many years - worldwide. He celebrated Olympic victory in the road four and was runner-up in the individual time trial three times. Rich is now 45 years old and riding fast on a racing bike has become difficult for him, he says in an interview during Eurobike. He now talks about "air time" when he uses the term time. In cycling terms, Rich has lost his grip on the ground since he discovered mountain biking. "Air time" is the time you spend in the air during a jump - preferably with your bike. Rich, who works in product management at the Canyon bike brand, can now be found in the bike park more often than on the road in his free time. He has been infected with the bike virus since taking a riding technique course with BIKE expert Stefan Herrmann. He proudly recounts a "two-metre drop" that he completed without crashing. For all road cyclists who are not familiar with mountain bike jargon: This means that Rich dropped from a height of two metres on his bike. Rich's bike currently has to absorb 89 kilos. Incidentally, the scars on his face are all from road cycling. The former Gerolsteiner pro is currently training as a mountain bike coach, he wants to obtain a B licence and train children in bike sports in the future. Going out on the road with young people - that would be too dangerous for him at the moment due to the traffic with many aggressive drivers.
