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Cyclist Stefan Bisseger (SUI) with girlfriend Celine and cat Leo.
When he was young, Stefan Bisseger was laughed at by his competitors from time to time. Why? Among other things, because they raced with aluminum instead of modern carbon bikes. Father Bruno and mother Andrea did not have money to buy their son the latest and most expensive products. “It never bothered me. Maybe it was even better in retrospect like that,” says Bisseger. One thing’s for sure: Thurgau’s “Muni” hasn’t been laughing for a long time. Bisseger is one of the world’s best time trialists He won EM gold a month ago. “It makes me proud,” he says.
Bisseger did not back down after his golden coup. His next target is a World Cup medal, “preferably the gold one,” as he notes. The situation is serious in Wollongong, Australia (from 5:40 am Swiss time) on Sunday, 100 km south of Sydney. “The competition will be higher than in EM, many will probably rise. Me too. I was solid when I won, but not excellent – I still have room for improvement,” he says.
girlfriend Celine does her work for him
Such statements show exactly how Bisseger ticks. He is not afraid to speak simple language. For this, he has already received criticism through social media. For example, it was said that he had only one big mouth. “I’m a person who is confident. But what’s wrong with that? I respect every opponent I have. I love this about time trials – if someone was faster than me, they deserved it. Point. More Then I congratulate him too, » says Bissegar.
However, the bike powerhouse admitted that negative comments on Instagram and Twitter have already affected her. ‘Yeah, they can hurt. I too get tagged too often, then I get one message after another on my cell phone – which stresses me out. So my friend Céline now sees everything and only tells me what she thinks is important. That way I can clear my head,” Bisegar explains. But what bothered him the most? One episode comes to mind: “Once someone wrote indecent and demanded that I mail him a jersey, I would have preferred to throw the phone away – it’s just indecent.”
Late birthday party?
Back to the World Cup. 34.2 practically flat kilometers with many changes of direction should correspond to the good technician Bisseger. “If it doesn’t rain,” he says with a smile. Background: He fell twice in the Tour de France opening time trial in July. “I couldn’t get along with the time trial tires. But everything fits in the dry.” And what if it should rain? “So this time I’ll mount the road bike tires – they work well, “They say.
“All Australians hate cyclists”
On the contrary it cannot be more. The World Cycling Championships was held in Belgium in 2021. In other words, where cyclists are worshiped like heroes. Things will look very different in 2022 – the World Cup will be in Australia. More precisely: in Wollongong, 100 kilometers south of Sydney. Here Gummeler can hardly be identified.
Stephen Kung (28): «Yesterday we stopped in a cafe as we were walking out when the locals came up to us and said: ‘You are cycling here?’ He thought it was dangerous and said: ‘All Australians hate cyclists!>»
Kung himself has heard that cyclists are not particularly respected Down Under. This often creates a dire situation on the roads. “But we have agreed to a ceasefire,” Thurgau said with a smile.
After all, the country lacks a cycling culture, but that’s exactly why he applied for the World Cup. “They want to change something here, build bike paths and get people excited about the sport,” Kung says.
He is one of the top contenders for a World Cup medal in the Sunday (05:40 am) time trial. “I feel good for this last big goal of the season.”
His biggest competitor? The Italian Filippo song (“He’s the man to beat”), Belgian Ramko Ivanpol (“He’s surfing on a wave of excitement after his Vuelta victory”), as well as Slovenia tour hero Tadej Pogakar (“He gets better and better”) has been) and his compatriot Stefan Bisseger (“He is the European champion, that’s all to say”).
On the contrary it cannot be more. The World Cycling Championships was held in Belgium in 2021. In other words, where cyclists are worshiped like heroes. Things will look very different in 2022 – the World Cup will be in Australia. More precisely: in Wollongong, 100 kilometers south of Sydney. Here Gummeler can hardly be identified.
Stephen Kung (28): «Yesterday we stopped in a cafe as we were walking out when the locals came up to us and said: ‘You are cycling here?’ He thought it was dangerous and said: ‘All Australians hate cyclists!>»
Kung himself has heard that cyclists are not particularly respected Down Under. This often creates a dire situation on the roads. “But we have agreed to a ceasefire,” Thurgau said with a smile.
After all, the country lacks a cycling culture, but that’s exactly why he applied for the World Cup. “They want to change something here, build bike paths and get people excited about the sport,” Kung says.
He is one of the top contenders for a World Cup medal in the Sunday (05:40 am) time trial. “I feel good for this last big goal of the season.”
His biggest competitor? The Italian Filippo song (“He’s the man to beat”), Belgian Ramko Ivanpol (“He’s surfing on a wave of excitement after his Vuelta victory”), as well as Slovenia tour hero Tadej Pogakar (“He gets better and better”) has been) and his compatriot Stefan Bisseger (“He is the European champion, that’s all to say”).
Bisegar celebrated his 24th birthday last Tuesday. However “celebrating” is the wrong word. “The time trial of the World Cup is important, I don’t care about anything else.” In the event of a world title five days later, Bissegar will certainly be ready to party. “Winning the rainbow jersey is one of the big goals of my career. If I can make it, we’ll rip it. This will be the best birthday ever!”
