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quite rationally. “Lots of external factors affect you in road racing. By comparison, the conditions for track racers are like scientific laboratories.” Müller, who has also acted as a sports director at the Austrian Cycling Federation for some time, concurs that materials are very important in his sport – in addition to courage, talent and training discipline. This is even truer than it was a decade ago. “The technical advances in recent years have been huge. Even back in the old days, we knew what was paramount for the fastest times: aerodynamics.” Aerodynamics is 95% of the battle when it comes to speed, Müller estimates. Rolling resistance, chain tension – these only make marginal differences. Today, no road cyclist would ride with an open-necked jersey. Professionals pay up to 5,000 euros for special time-trial gear; wheels and helmets are custom-designed too. “Resistance increases exponentially with speed,” explains Müller, “so you have to generate less pedal wattage to improve from an average of 50 to 51 kilometers per hour than from 60 to 61 kilometers per hour.” The latter has become the norm in track cycling, with average speeds 10 kilometers per hour higher than when Müller was a rookie. The nonstop hunt for new lap records sometimes has remarkable consequences. At the Tokyo Olympics, several of Müller’s rivals attached special band-aids to their shins that reduced air resistance. This practice was swiftly banned. On the other hand, a tip Müller gave his colleagues is allowed: “If you want to do everything possible to minimize resistance, cut your fingernails before a race.” “For thousands of years, homo sapiens has steadfastly embraced risks,” according to a 2012 article entitled “The Urge For Extremes – An Ancient Addiction” in the German newspaper DIE ZEIT. “That was how the Antarctic and Arctic were conquered, the highest peaks climbed, diets expanded and medications discovered.” And races won: Irmgard Bensusan’s fellow sprinter Usain Bolt ran at 44.72 kilometers per hour when setting the world 100-meters record in 2009. Müller’s cycling colleague Denise Mueller-Korenek achieved an incredible 296 kilometers per hour in 2018 when she hurtled across a Utah salt flat in the slipstream of a dragster. Speed fuels the fascination. As Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher once said: “It’s always about how good your feel for
extremes is. Pushing yourself to the limits gives you a fantastic thrill and sense of satisfaction. But it entails a never-ending struggle too, against the laws of physics.” It’s a struggle that harbors plenty of dangers. Andreas Müller noticed “significantly more crashes than usual” at the Tokyo Olympics. And, in 2009, Irmgard Bensusan experienced for herself what can happen – even on a Tartan track. After exhausting years and months of preparation for the 2021 Paralympics, the silver medal winning Bensusan now wants to ease off – by embarking on a long-planned backpacking tour. It may even be a rewarding voyage into the unknown. That is, if she can succumb to the allure of slowing down. It’s been some time since Alex Raack, born in Celle in 1983, was last called “Turbo” by his soccer buddies. The freelance journalist now prefers to use his experience and eagle eyes – on and off the field.
