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For the love of mud

Meet 2015 German Enduro Champion Fabian Scholz

By Ass Savers

November 8^th, 2016

Fabian Scholz doesn’t quite fit the picture of a loud fearless trail shredder that sinks another energy drink and drop off a cliff for the next adrenaline high.

Yet this rather controlled german rider is on top of the Enduro game in Germany (national champion in 2015, second place in 2016). His success may be explained by a life that totally evolves around the bike and how to ride it. When he’s not going somewhere exotic to race with FOCUS Trail Team, he’s working for FOCUS bikes as an engineer, constantly pushing the boundaries for what a bike can do and what you can do with a bike.

Add the fact that he owns 17 (yes, seventeen!) bikes and the image of an obsessed man on pursuit of perfection slowly evolves. We got the chance to ask him some personal questions after a ride on his home trails outside Stuttgart, Germany. Photos by Christoph Laue

German National Enduro Champion in 2015, Engineer at FOCUS bikes and owner of 17 bikes. Not a football player.

"...sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself to get out. But as soon as you’re in the woods it’s so much fun."

"I love riding in muddy conditions but I don’t like to be wet and muddy. So that’s a problem"

The Mudder from Ass Savers is Fabians first line of defense.

We‘ll start of with an “easy“ question. Why do you ride?

For me riding is freedom. You can do it all over the world and it has so many varieties.

How was your childhood on the bike?

I remember how I completely destroyed my sister bike since it was too small for me but I used it like a BMX and jumped everything. When I was a little older I always rode my father’s full suspension bike which was obviously way too big. It didn’t stop me from jumping and drifting around with my friends.

What made you start racing and how old were you?

My first race was a cross country race when I was about 13-14 years. No one pushed me to do that, I simply wanted to do it. I quickly realized that cross country racing is too lame and I was overtaking so many riders in the downhill sections so I decided to start doing dual slalom racing.

"Victories are earned when no one is watching" - Fabian does most of his training solo.

Describe your home trails and how they‘ve influenced you as a rider.

I’m living in the area of Stuttgart since 25 years. Our trails are pretty short and you can basically ride them all year long. The terrain is typical German with natural trails and some built stuff. So I would say it prepared me with basic skills. Everything else I learned by traveling to races or traveling the world.

What would your dream trail consist of?

The perfect trail starts with some alpine riding, tight switchbacks and an incredible view, it soon takes me into the forest with fresh cut loamy sections, super flowy. The last part needs to have nice berms with big jumps.

I love riding in muddy conditions but I don’t like to be wet and muddy. So that’s a problem.

What‘s the biggest challenge with riding in muddy conditions and how do you prepare for it?

I love riding in muddy conditions but I don’t like to be wet and muddy. So that’s a problem. Most people have fear because of less grip in muddy conditions. I like that because you slide around all the time without crashing. Of course you need to have skills to control the uncontrolled riding. That’s the challenge! Mud is soft – so crashing doesn’t hurt so much.

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How do you motivate yourself to go out and ride when it‘s a rainy November day?

As I said I don’t like to get wet, so sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself to get out. But as soon as you’re in the woods it’s so much fun. It is so rewarding when you pushed yourself through tough conditions. In rainy winter days I mostly use my Mares CX bike. Good for the skills!

What is the key skill to have as an enduro rider if you want to compete at your level?

I would say talent and even more important the right mindset. To have the right mind is so important to be able to deal with the pressure and stress. I would say this is my strength. To be 110% focused when it counts. Even when other riders are stronger than me I can push myself to the maximum and even beyond. But of course you can’t rely on that only. I train a lot and I’m really picky about my nutrition. There are so many factors to deal with when you want to have max output.

Even when other riders are stronger than me I can push myself to the maximum and even beyond.

How is racing in Germany compared to the international scene?

Short! German stages are super short since we don’t have big mountains, so this means you need to be on your game from the first corner of the race. There is no room for error. For example a german total race time in one day is about 10-15 min and World Series Level is 35-50 min. So each stage is 1-3 min long compared to World level of 5-8 min. Which means it’s hard to do good internationally when you don’t spend most of your time in the mountains training long stages.

I have respect and fear, but as soon as I’m on the bike I know what I can do

Crashing is obviously a part of enduro biking, how do you deal with the fear and what’s your best technique for avoiding it?

I had pretty big crashes and injuries in the past. Of course that’s part of the game. But I’m a bit more calculated meanwhile. I still push myself to the limit but maybe not too crazy like I did when I was younger. During racing you need to ride with more risk of course, but you’re more concentrated and this helps to stay on your bike, I guess.

I can deal with the fear of crashing pretty good. I have respect and fear, but as soon as I’m on the bike I know what I can do and I don’t think about crashing anymore. As soon as you start thinking what could happen you’re not concentrated anymore and the risk of crashing is even higher. You need to trust in your skills!

Fabian regularly rides dirt bike to hone his flying skills.

As a technical object, what do you find most fascinating with the bike?

It’s amazing how the development progressed in the last years. 5-6 years ago you only saw downhill bikes in bikeparks and now you can do everything with enduro bikes. They’re so capable!

You also ride other types of bikes, why? For instance, what do you get on a road bike that you don’t get on a mountainbike?

For me riding different types of bikes is somehow almost like doing different sports. The only thing they have in common are 2 wheels!

I ride my fixed gear bike for the thrill, I ride my road bike for the speed and distance, I ride my cyclocross bike because easy trails get interesting again, I ride my enduro bike because I can take it to almost all places in the world and ride it, I ride my dirtbike for the airtime and skills, I ride my retro bikes for fun, I ride my commuter bike for going to work!

"...you need to have skills to control the uncontrolled riding"

The Ass Savers Mudder was designed to keep mud out of your face, something that is crucial in enduro racing.

The hills around Stuttgart is home to many challenging trails.

Are you a “lone rider” or a “social biker”?

I need to be both! When I’m training, I ride alone most of the time. But I prefer riding with friends, especially when traveling to new places.

What aspect of biking is uniting for all disciplines?

The freedom!

And last, if you wouldn‘t bike, what would you do?

Not playing soccer! I think I would draw more or maybe play in a hardcore band? But that’s more like a dream, unfortunately I’m really unmusical, so I suck playing an instrument. I’ll stick to my bikes!

Footnotes

Photo by Christoph Laue

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FootNotes

Photo by Christoph Laue