Anna katharina speeds off the hill at 60 km/h

Just 20 inches small are the tires of the bicycle with which anna katharina muller plunges into real adventures, and still quite successful. The 19-year-old competes in the german national league and was even able to compete in the world BMX championships in may. Whether it does so? “I’m still thinking about it, it’s in the middle of my study semester. It’s also a question of money,” she says.

The woman from wiesentheide is considered exotic in her sport, at least in this country. There are about 600 licensed BMX riders in germany, including just three girls. “By way of comparison, there are 15,000 licenses in france, around 5,000 in the netherlands, and the vast majority are boys,” says her father jurgen muller. It was through him that anna katharina first came to the sport of BMX, because jurgen muller sells motorcycle accessories and at the same time supplies BMX riders with clothing.

Anna kathari-na’s relationship with BMX sports began in erlangen, germany. The cycling club, which was founded in 1950, is one of the most successful clubs in this sport and also owns its own track there. When dad brought clothes to erlangen again a good four years ago, the daughter watched the daredevil athletes fly through the air on their bikes during training. “I found this totally interesting. At that time i didn’t do any sport at all, i thought you should try it out. And I stuck with it,” she says of her beginnings in “bicycle motocross,” or BMX for short, a sport that spilled over from the U.S. To germany in the early 1980s.

The sporting equipment is not that different from a standard BMX bike, and it’s not that expensive to buy. The equipment is available from papa, i.E. Racing suit, spine protector, protectors for the elbows and knees as well as a completely closed helmet. Finally, the sport is not without danger. The riders race off from a hill that can be up to eight meters steep, and by the time they reach the first obstacle, they are doing around 60 km/h on their small bikes. The obstacles are mostly asphalt waves, and the track is especially busy in the narrow curves, where up to eight riders squeeze through.

The sprint races that anna katharina competes in are 300 to 400 meters long. Spectacular jumps are more the domain of the man competition or the super-cross, another discipline within BMX. A good start is “half the battle,” she says. It’s a matter of getting away with a lot of momentum. The bike is ridden without gears, it has a handbrake, but it is better not to use it too often. “He who brakes loses, that’s really the way it is here most of the time,” says anna katharina from experience. Only at the finish or to avoid an accident, she will be pulled.

What is special for you? The attraction of this sport with the small bikes? “It takes a lot to get up the nerve, especially at the start ball. That’s adrenaline! When you stand in a final, it’s a great feeling.”Her father jurgen supports her in her usual sport, is a service man and technician. To assert oneself, to overcome one’s fear, as here in sports – this is also a good school for life, he says.

Jurgen muller accompanies the daughter to the races all over europe, from prague to winterthur in switzerland to belgium or holland starting in spring. Last year, anna katharina competed in the junior class at the world championships in denmark, but she crashed in the first run and was eliminated. She didn’t fare much better at the german championship. “I couldn’t help it, i was shot down.”An experience that comes with the territory.

She was fourth overall in the BMX national league last year. Since this season, the young athlete has been racing in the “elite”, i.E. The women’s category, where there is much more and stronger competition than among the juniors. Her goal? “To make it to the finals of the world championships, that would be it. But I do the sport primarily because it makes me spab. After all, it’s my hobby.”That’s what anna katharina trains for, even in winter, to gain strength and endurance. She rides at home with the racing bike on the roll.

Her sport is demanding – being fit is important. “It’s like a 100-meter sprint over obstacles. To do this you have to push and pull the bike. In the race, seven other riders also have the goal of being the first to enter the bend,” says anna katharina, describing the challenge. The sport has been an olympic sport since 2008, but the road to get there is hard. He leads the world rankings, and this year no german competitor is likely to make it to london, says jurgen muller. Anna katharina is not planning to go that far anyway. She will compete again in the national league and run in some european championships. Priority is given to the studies of business administration that she has just started. There she wants to get the decisive curve.

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