"Blind flight? I was only going straight ahead anyway."

How it feels to go 210,4 km/h with a standard mountain bike only one man can say: The Austrian Markus Stöckl, the former and, since September, also new world record holder in this discipline this year. On his return from Chile we asked him about this special feeling.

What sort of person do you need to be to get a thrill out of speeding down a 45 degree downhill skiing slope on a bike?

Oh, a really normal one. I simply love to ride bikes: racing bikes, mountain bikes, uphill, downhill. But of course, the faster you go, the cooler it is.

Can you describe the feeling you have during a 210-km/h extreme ride on a mountain bike?

You don’t really have time for feelings on a ride like that. You’re so busy concentrating on doing everything exactly the way you practiced it.

Technically it doesn’t look that hard at all: you get on the bike, race down and then get off, right?

Well … not quite. For one thing, the exact aerodynamic position on the bike is really important – because the air turbulence at this speed can be quite dangerous. And for another, the slope wasn’t perfect: two lanes were prepared for me, which were partly very bumpy and in some places were partly free of snow. So I had to change lanes twice – once even at the steepest spot. Besides that, I had to concentrate on not breathing ...

Why?

Because some snow got into my helmet due to the helicopter, my visor fogged up. I caught some air just after the speed checkpoint and then I jumped over two bumps in blind flight. But that didn’t matter, I was only going straight ahead anyway ...

Normal people are overcome with what they call fear when taking on projects much less risky than yours – something you seem to be unfamiliar with. Do you automatically become immune to it going through life as a 190 centimeter, 100 kilo hunk?

Well, you know, I’m also afraid of some things. Or let’s just say, I get a kind of bad feeling. But with this project I knew that I was perfectly prepared, mentally and physically.

How was that? Your decision to go for the world record in Chile was said to be a spontaneous one.

Oh, I’ve been purposely preparing myself for the speed world record goal for years. That the course in Chile was being prepared after many years I only found out by chance. Then I immediately started planning the trip, and seven days later I had the world record in the bag.

You used a stock bike for your record trip. How do you get over the fact that, under such extreme stress, an important part could break at any time – perhaps with fatal results?

Good downhill bikes have adequate safety limits – I wasn’t worried about that. A major problem was the aerodynamics: In contrast to a speed bike, which has fairing, on a basic bike, the stomach and upper body are exposed and work like a braking parachute, and you get air swirls that can cause extremely unsmooth riding.

Despite that, there were only 12 km/h that stood between you and the absolute speed record made on a speed bike. How appealing is the goal of breaking this record next?

If my sponsors and bike manufacturers support me, I’d like to start with developing a new speed bike with full fairing and a longer wheelbase as soon as possible. Then the record could be broken next year or the year after.