INTERVIEW WITH SABINE SPITZ:

Hello Sabine, where are you on the road right now?

I'm just back in South Africa for a couple of weeks because I have the opportunity to go on a safari there by bike. That is very appealing. Otherwise I'm usually at this time in my home in the Black Forest and fly back there after the safari.

Safari by bike sounds super exciting - what exactly are you doing?

I will be used as a guide or leader. The safari has a charity background (Children in the Wilderness). The proceeds will be used to support children in rural areas in the border triangle of South Africa/Botswana/Zimbabwe - exactly where the safari takes place.

What kind of routes are on the program - how demanding will it be?

Training plans were issued to the total of 400 participants, all must have a certain basic fitness. In total, the tour goes four days with 70-80 kilometers each on elephant trails in the wilderness, probably we will also meet lions there.

That will be demanding for man and material - which tires do you ride?

Definitely, it is teeming with devil thorns, I have seen pictures where hardly any tread was visible because of thorns. The more important it is to have a good tire and also pack enough sealing milk. I ride in front with the Racing Ray and rear Racing Ralph, both of which I love. The Racing Ray gives me a good lead. Especially when it also goes downhill on gravel, light gravel, I have made super experiences with it. The Racing Ralph rear gives me super traction on the rear wheel. This is a super combination. I drive the size 57-622 with 1.3 bar - of course Tubeless. I trust the tires and always have a good feeling.

Did you increase your training load for the Tour? How much cycling do you do today?

Of course, I have also prepared for it, but I still drive quite frequently. When in Germany, I like to ride my MTB and also my road bike fitted with your Schwalbe One. In South Africa, I'm also often on the road with my gravel bike and ride your G-One Allround there. In total, I sit for about 15 hours a week on the bike.

Let's talk about your first World Cup victory, which was exactly 20 years ago today, July 7. What memories do you still have of that day?

The race took place on Vancouver's local mountain, Grouse Mountain. I have directly again a terrific picture before eyes, which was made by me. There I stand on top of the slope and you can see the street lines of Vancouver in the background. That sticks in my head. The course was very varied, was a lot of fun because of the many different requirements. At the award ceremony, the organizers couldn't find the German national anthem on the CD, so I sang the anthem for myself (laughs).

There was no official partnership between you and Schwalbe at the time, but you still had the Schwalbe Jimmy mounted on your bike. How did that come about?

The Jimmy was important to me as a tire because it gave me the best performance. If you know the tire has really good qualities and is ideal for these conditions, then you ride it. The Jimmy had significantly higher lugs, and at that time I was still running it in a very narrow version, 1.95 width. That's virtually no longer available today. Due to the narrow version, the Jimmy's lugs were even higher - that's the first thing that always comes to mind when I think back to it.

In your view, what has been the most formative development years since then in terms of tires?

The width, but also the rubber compound. I find it very exciting how differently the compounds work in the end. I was there once when this was illustrated with an experiment. You dropped a ball with different rubber compounds and depending on how much energy it absorbed, it bounced back at different speeds. Also a nice practical test is to twist the lugs on XC tires and see how fast they turn back to the original position or how slow. There are serious differences and you can see how suitable your compounds are for the most varied conditions.

What was the significance of your first victory for you?

2001 was the first year in which I took off. In 2002, I had good results before that, but you can't describe the first victory. Just one word: Wow. Especially considering where I came from. Maybe there was also a bit of satisfaction in having shown some critics.

Otherwise, what is the moment in your career that you think back to most fondly?

The Olympic victory in 2008, but also the silver medal in London 2012 after my fall in the race means a lot to me. A lot could have happened there, I won silver and didn't lose gold.

Three years ago you finished your active career - have you ever missed anything from that time since then?

I'm still in the thick of things. In addition to coaching, I'm also a TV expert. I don't miss my active time, because I did it for 25 years. So it's also good to have found an end. I love doing my laps, but I really don't have to do any more intervals, ten times up the hill and back down again. People used to ask what a nice ride I did in training. And the reality then was that I was five minutes away from home and worked my way up a mountain. I really don't miss that (laughs).