"I want to try and get back to my old level. It's going to be a long road, I still have a lot of work ahead of me. But I know that I can do it," said the 25-year-old in an interview with the "Weser-Kurier".
The professional from the German team Bora-hansgrohe took a five-month break at the end of May due to mental problems and now wants to make his comeback at the Cape Epic mountain bike race in South Africa from Sunday to 24 October.
One reason for his mental problems was his lack of inner balance during setbacks. "I didn't cope well with the times when I had to get out of my tunnel as a competitive athlete. And then it became bigger and bigger swings - on the one hand this totally focussed training, on the other hand the time when I wasn't training," said Kämna.
Never "total satisfaction"
During the break, he took a sailing licence and spent a lot of time with his family and friends. One realisation: when everything is going well, he can cope. "But as soon as there are difficulties, I have problems getting satisfaction outside of sport. I missed out on opening myself up to other things, developing other interests. I was living my life the wrong way," reported Kämna.
Even the stage win at the Tour de France in September 2020 did not make him permanently happy. Even after a success, he never feels "total satisfaction." He wants to do some things differently in the future. "I've invited a lot of friends and family round to spend time with them in recent weeks. I've done that extremely rarely in recent years. And I realise today how much I've missed that. I want to integrate this time into my competitive sport. Because I hope to become more balanced and happier as a result," said Kämna.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:211016-99-620381/3
