Ski mountaineer climbs to the top of the world: Interview with Antonia Niedermaier

Antonia Niedermaier - about the person

• Born: 20.2.2003
• Place of residence: Bad Aibling

Teams

• 2023 CANYON//SRAM Racing (GSF)
• 2022 Canyon//Sram Generation (GSF)
• 2021 Juniors, Team Mangertseder Bavaria

Successes (Cycling)

• 2021 German champion - individual time trial (juniors)
• 2021 Silver European Championships - Individual Time Trial (Junior Women)
• 2021 Bronze World Championships - Individual Time Trial (Junior Women)
• 2022 Tour Cycliste de l'Ardèche victory
• 2023 German champion individual time trial U23
• 2023 Giro Donne stage win

With a stage win at the Giro Donne, her debut in the UCI Women's World Tour was a sensational success. However, she had to withdraw from the Giro Donne after a crash. We spoke to the likeable athlete:

TOUR: How are things going after the crash at the Giro Donne?

NiedermaierThe fall was bad, but my teeth are all back in. And now we'll see how it goes, whether the tooth that was completely out will grow back or not. We won't know for another three months.

TOUR: The tooth was completely out?

NiedermaierYes. Luckily I had it in my mouth and they put it back in straight away in hospital in Italy. It may grow, but it may not. If it doesn't, then an implant is put in, but fortunately that's no longer a big issue these days.

TOUR: Apart from that, have you had any luck?

NiedermaierYes, I was really unlucky. The kerb was only 10 centimetres away and I didn't break anything, just grazes. Just blemishes - I'll be fine.

Antonia Niedermaier: The day before was a really good day with lots of joy and tears of joy

TOUR: Just one day after your success - did that particularly hurt you?

NiedermaierYes, that was really annoying. The day before was a really good day with lots of joy and tears of joy and then the next day, unfortunately, the other tears. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is that I'm reasonably healthy, that nothing is broken and that I can get back on my bike. And luckily I'll be able to do that again soon.

TOUR: You come from ski mountaineering and mountain running and of course you immediately think of Toni Palzer, who went the same way. Was he a role model for you?

NiedermaierYes, Toni was my team-mate in ski mountaineering and has always been a role model for me, because he's always so relaxed about everything and can give good tips. And he's a super funny and nice guy. Cycling wasn't derived from Toni, however, but I've been doing it for a long time as a balancing sport. Because there were no mountain running competitions in the summer due to corona, I took part in a few cycling races. That's when Mario Vonhof's Mangertseder team discovered me and I rode for them for the season. Immediately afterwards I got the contract with Canyon - Sram. But that had nothing to do with Toni, it was really pure coincidence.

TOUR: How long were you in the team with Toni Palzer?

NiedermaierWe were on the SKIMO team together for two years (editor's note: Ski Mountaineering). I skied my first World Championships in ski mountaineering in 2019 - I was on the team with him in 2019 and 2020. I basically experienced his last two years as a ski mountaineer and also his final World Championships in Andorra, where he was runner-up again. I became double world champion back then. And we had a really nice closing party with the team.

I found it extremely difficult to drive in the field

TOUR: Even though you used the racing bike as training equipment, it's a big leap into international racing. You're racing with women who have been racing since they were children. Did you find it difficult to get started?

NiedermaierTo be honest, yes. I found it extremely difficult to ride in the field - when you're just not used to it. All the girls have been doing it since they could walk, so of course it's super easy for them to move around in the field. It was really difficult for me at first to find my feet. But I was lucky that I was racing with Linda Riedmann (editor's note: Team Jumbo-Visma Women) and she really helped me. I grew into it relatively quickly. I still find it a bit difficult to ride in the field and still have respect for it. But it's getting better and better and I'm learning more at every race. I don't have that many race days now - maybe 45 or something like that. But it's all getting better and it's going reasonably well now. But at the beginning, international was really quite difficult for me.

TOUR: I'm not surprised - other career changers have done the same before ...

Niedermaier: I think that's extremely difficult for anyone starting out in cycling. You're in the field and everyone is riding so close - it's really scary.

TOUR: This is your first time in the women's category at the Giro Donne.'s World Tour. What expectations did you have when you went there?

Niedermaier: So actually with none at all. I thought to myself, I had a serious knee operation this year and then thought: well, let's just see how it goes. I hoped that I could help the team and that I could do my job. I didn't expect to win a stage at all. It was really surprising and overwhelming because I didn't think I could be so far up the field in the World Tour. I know that I'm good on the mountain and that I can also ride well - but I didn't expect it to be this good.

I then thought I would try something

TOUR: Specifically about the stage: did you get the feedback from the team to give it a go?

NiedermaierWe rode in relatively quickly on the first climb and unfortunately I didn't follow, but then I was in the chasing group with four other girls. We then caught up with the other four at the front and then nobody rode and the group from behind came in. I then thought I'd try something and I was also told on the radio: if you want to try something, try it now. And then I thought to myself, I'll just try it and seized the moment and rode. I realised that nobody was really following me. It was pretty close. I just rode all out until the last metre, gave it my best shot and it was enough.

TOUR: Does it help that you know this effort from ski mountaineering? You also have to go over the limit for a short time. Do you think that helped you?

NiedermaierDefinitely, so the last 20 minutes were actually relatively flat and that's when I unpacked my time trial skills, which are actually similar in terms of effort to a short ski mountaineering race. That definitely helped me, because that's exactly the kind of exertion: 20 minutes of crawling around above the threshold.

TOUR: The crash is particularly bitter because you were in second place overall ...

NiedermaierYes, of course it's annoying and you think to yourself: if I hadn't been in that exact place at that exact time, things might have turned out differently. But I mean, you're always smarter in hindsight and you simply can't change it. I'm just glad that I'm so fit again after a week and that I'm back on my feet and nothing is broken. I really have to say that I had a thousand guardian angels, because it could have turned out differently. It's annoying, but you can't change it, that's just cycling.

TOUR: When you look back now, you outsprinted the reigning cycling world champion. Do you think to yourself: amazing, I'm actually at the level where I can compete?

NiedermaierYes, of course you get self-confidence, but I think at the end of the day I'm true to myself and I think only once you've had a big success, you can't rest on your laurels. You have to keep working on yourself. And I actually find it a bit difficult when people have such high expectations of me. You can have a bad day and then you can have a good day. But of course it gives you a good feeling when you know that the others haven't kept up. But that still doesn't change my self-perception.

It's an honour to be allowed to ride there

TOUR: Have you been following cycling in recent years?

NiedermaierNot really. Because my dad is very good friends with Markus Burghardt, we always had our eye on men's cycling. If he was riding somewhere, we watched the races.

TOUR: Do you even know the big names in women's cycling?

Niedermaier (laughs): It's always quite funny because the other girls always laugh at me because I don't really know any drivers. They always make jokes about me when they tell me a number. The other day we had the same thing with Marta Cavalli (editor's note: Team FDJ-Suez) when I asked who she was. Then of course I was laughed at. But of course, if you've never raced with them, how am I supposed to know them? That doesn't bother me. I'm going to get to know them all, so I need a bit of time.

TOUR: Maybe that doesn't hurt because you don't worry too much about the strengths and weaknesses of others?

Niedermaier: Yes, I think that actually helps me because I'm much more relaxed going in. When I'm in a group with someone who is actually really well known. It's easier for me to ride or co-operate with them because I don't have to worry about how they're going to ride. So I think that has actually helped me a few times.

TOUR: Have you actually changed your training significantly or were you already training like this with Team Mangertseder?

Niedermaier: I trained in a similar way, of course with a little more emphasis on running, because I also had a much greater focus on ski mountaineering. In principle, I trained in the same way. Last year I did my A-levels, so of course I trained a little less because I was still at school and simply didn't have as much time. But I've always trained a lot on the bike. Now I train almost exclusively on the bike, but I still go running twice a week. It's a must, I think it's good for the head.

I just take part in the races that I enjoy

TOUR: You originally said that you wanted to continue competing in ski mountaineering in winter - is that still the case?

Niedermaier: I definitely want to take part in that. I just take part in the races that I enjoy and the odd World Cup. I definitely want to keep doing it because it's a great sport and I really enjoy it. Also because of the people: I do miss the people from ski mountaineering. It's much more familiar than cycling. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do much this year because of my knee, but I'll definitely be back next winter.

TOUR: The knee problems were also the reason for your switch to cycling?

Niedermaier: Yes, partly. I couldn't run well downhill and running uphill is no longer so fashionable, only trail running. I can't do that at all because I have problems with both knees. And that was also the reason why I started cycling in training. Because I wanted to take the strain off my knees and I wanted to do my volumes on the bike.

TOUR: You've already achieved so much in such a short time - do you still have big sporting dreams? Olympic Games ski mountaineering?

NiedermaierYes, I would definitely like to experience the Olympic Games in ski mountaineering. And maybe, who knows, the cycling Olympics in the summer. It's all still up in the air - but that would definitely be good for me. I've already been to the Youth Olympic Games in ski mountaineering and that was really cool and overwhelming.

Antonia Niedermaier Background Giro Donne 2023:

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) has won the Giro d'Italia Donne for the fourth time. The 40-year-old came out on top ahead of Juliette Labous (DSM - Firmenich) and Gaia Realini (Lidl - Trek) in third. The 20-year-old Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon - SRAM) caused quite a stir. After an attack, the Upper Bavarian won the queen stage of the tour ahead of van Vleuten and briefly moved up to second place overall. However, she was taken off her bike the next day by Urska Zigart (Jayco - AlUla) when she lost control of her bike. The German U23 time trial champion had to abandon the race, bleeding heavily from her face. However, she did not suffer any fractures. Like Anton Palzer, Niedermaier originally comes from ski mountaineering. In the 2020/21 season, she won the U20 Ski Mountaineering World Cup. In the same year, she finished third in the U23 category at the Road Cycling World Championships. The Giro Donne was her first race in the UCI Women's World Tour.

Note: in the first version of the interview, we asked Antonia about her start at the Tour de France Femmes. She was originally nominated for the race by the team - but this was changed again.