Due to his extraordinarily long and fruitful stint at the top level of the sport, Thomas is often called Europe’s “Elder Statesman” of MTB. His professional career started in 1990, and already in 1996, he was on top of the Mountain Bike World Championship podium for the first time. He went on to collect 18 World Cup victories, three of them first place, a silver Olympic medal, two golds in the Cyclo-cross World Championships with 15 World Champs podium finishes in total, and much more.
In 2002, Thomas started working as the Team Director of the SCOTT-SRAM MTB racing team (then SCOTT Swisspower Mountain Bike Team), a position he’s scheduled to hold until at least 2028. One of his protégés for 23 years was also the “golden” Nino Schurter, who hung his pro career on a nail just days ago. At the time of the podcast, he spoke to Matt from a scenic spot overlooking Lake Zurich because his house was full of athletes – a top-class cycling coach’s life is rarely dull.
In the podcast, Thomas tied his racing career to the experience needed for MTB coaching, spoke about how it feels seeing riders coming through under one’s guidance, took apart playing different roles in the sport he loves, noted the trend among young riders craving to diversify their cycling portfolio and not necessarily meaningfully pairing MTB with road cycling, remarked on why is “money always a kind of cancer of any fun in a sport”, and other topics.
Brew a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy the listen!
