Q&a ricarda bauernfeind

Cyclist: What did you do before cycling?

Ricarda Bauernfeind: I tried almost every sport with friends; I was a very active child. I played soccer, I did ballet and a lot of running. I learned two instruments and started learning to ride a horse. Then my brother Gabriel, who’s five years older, got a road bike and so I also wanted one. My parents weren’t happy about it – they thought it would be too dangerous – but changed their mind.

Cyc: You started racing while studying. How did you balance the demands?

RB: After school, in 2018, I continued racing for a women’s elite team in Germany. We did all these national races and I recognised, ‘OK, I’m not that good anymore,’ so it didn’t make sense to focus purely on cycling. At the end of the year, I went to university to study to be a teacher and focussed on that. I wanted to become a teacher for nutrition and something like housekeeping.

At the end of 2019 I decided to stop racing and just do cycling for fun. The pandemic came and I carried on, mostly on Zwift, because it was really efficient and I didn’t have that much time to spare. Then I did the German National Championships just for fun and everything started again.

Cyc: So what had changed in that time?

RB: I think I put less pressure on myself. I was always super-nervous before a race, on the sidelines almost crying because I was afraid of disappointing people. But with the distance from the sport, I grew up and learned how to deal with all the nerves. And I still enjoyed the sport because I continued on Zwift and riding outside with my brother. I love the feeling of going to the limit.

Cyc: How important was Zwift to your progress?

RB: Very. I still do it, even in summer. I really love Zwift intervals and training. The longest I’ve ridden on there is five hours. In the winter of 2021-22, I did every session on Zwift.

Cyc: How did you join Canyon-Sram?

RB: At the European Championships in 2021, team manager Ronny Lauke told me about the Canyon-Sram Generation team. I thought this would be perfect for me because the focus was more on learning and developing, bringing riders from different countries to Europe. I think joining them was the best decision I’ve ever made because I learned how to race in a bigger peloton, to be brave