It is very difficult to say where she is after the infection, but the training has gone well. “I really wanted to come here, I want to do this race. And if things don’t go the way I’d like, I don’t put any mental pressure on myself for the World Cup. I then have to accept that I was ill. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to compete at the front at the World Championships. I have that in the back of my mind. I’m a head person, if the head wants, anything goes,” she said in an interview with APA.
There aren’t many mountains in Munich, so the route is accordingly, said Mitterwallner with a laugh. “But they made the best of it and there are two climbs.” In fact, the course reminds her of Novi Sad last year when she became European U23 champion. It will certainly be physically demanding, because you always have to be on the gas. “It feels like an extended short track, always pushing, out of every corner. It’s going to be a tough race. Of course, I would prefer it if the climb was a minute or two longer.”
The fact that the men already competed in their race on Friday on the 4.3 km long course in the Olympic Park and that there have been heavy rain showers since Thursday will have an impact on the subsoil. “It could be that tomorrow the track will be a battlefield.” According to the world rankings, Mitterwallner starts with number three from the front row, the long, wide climb is suitable for overtaking, but the second one is not possible because of the narrow serpentines. With A and B lines, it is important to make a decision as to whether to attack. “But mainly the start-finish area and the long climb will have to be overtaken.”
“I’m happy when I push myself to the limit”
In the first elite year, Mitterwallner has already secured three podium places in the World Cup, most recently in Canada she finished second behind Jolanda Neff from Switzerland. The promotion, approved by the International Cycling Union (UCI), means she will not be allowed to compete in any junior category in the future. “It was a big step for me to say I’m not trying to defend my U23 World and European titles. But what drives me is that I challenge myself. I’m not saying that I’ll start in the U23 and win, the riders are also at a tremendous level. But elite is a different class and a bigger challenge.”
It was her decision and she is responsible for it. “Inwardly I knew that being under 23 would not make me happy. I’m only happy when I push myself to the limits and have to get everything out of myself. It’s a completely different race to race in the Elite. It never happened to me this year that I drive my race alone like in the U23. There is always someone just behind you, in front of you, you always have to drive at the limit.”
The start of the Olympics in 2024 is the big goal
So what should she have been waiting for? Mitterwallner asked. “Now I’m motivated, now I’m fast. I’m not interested in points that I get easier in the U23 for the Olympic ranking, I’m not interested in another title. Of course I want a title, but I want it at the top. If I don’t make it to the Olympics in two years, something will go wrong anyway. If my form stays like this, I’ll be in the Olympics, there’s no question about it.” Corina Druml will also be at the start for Austria in Munich, but not Laura Stigger, who does not have an exemption for the early switch from the U23 to the elite class.