Timo Pritzel and SCOTT Team Voltage
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 SCOTT Bikes has announced a new team, SCOTT Team Voltage. Managed by Timo Pritzel, the team so far consists of 3 riders, John Alm Hogmann, Xavier Pasamonte, and Felix Rosendahl.Timo Pritzel is known today as one of the most down to earth professional riders out there. He has not only built himself up to be a legend in the Dirt and Freeride scene but while many others have let fame get the better of them, he has kept a good head on his shoulders. This will be Timo's 10th year as a SCOTT rider and with a new decade comes a new beginning. He has been doing some scouting over the last year to find some of the most promising young Freeride and Dirt riders and bring them together to join him on what will now be known as SCOTT Team Voltage. Timo plans to pass on his knowledge to the younger riders to help and support them as they build their careers as individuals and as a team. |
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| John Alm Hogmann John is already an amazing dialed rider who has trained a lot with Martin Soderstrom and is therefore good on big Freeride bikes and dirt jumps. He is extremely fit and had what we call "training world champion syndrome", which means that in training he would make it all look easy but when the competition starts he would get nervous and make little mistakes that cost a lot. But this is a thing from the past and he has proven with his top 5 finishes in the last few competitions that he is ready. |
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| Xavier Pasamonte Sherwy (his Nickname), he is hyper active, it was funny to do Yoga with him, and to try to tell him that it is not good to drink 3 Liters of Coca Cola a day. But step by step he is learning and is getting what the old TM is saying.This guy is a funny crazy Spanish rider with a big heart! He is working as a coach for younger kids in Spain in his local bike park. He has an amazing level of tricks, trains with Andreu Lacondeguy, and just needs a few more events to get used to the contest pressure. He doesn't speak much English but his riding doesn't need translating. He is hyper-active and I hope my yoga lifestyle will slow him down a bit and help him use his energy better. He had to carry this bag around in the rain at the old Airport Tempelhof Berlin for a while, the whole time he was just cussing in Spanish because he just thought what, this does not make sense to carry this bag, where is my bike! |
Felix RosendahlFelix is the youngster in the team but already has some big wins at competitions under his belt. Now he needs to learn how to deal with the pressure of being a pro rider and accept that he can’t win all the time. He is really motivated for the next season and I look forward to seeing where this can take him.
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| Simon Kirchman from the German Scott Team at his home spot, Venus Trails Cologne. He rules this place! There are also a few other SCOTT athletes who I will be coaching as part of the SCOTT Voltage B team. This team is also a mix of great riders from different countries who are hungry to make the next steps and show that they belong to Team A. I feel this is also a great way to get the young riders to learn from the older riders. |
Scott Voltage 'B' Team
Simon Kirchmann DE
Mischa Breitenstein CH
Pascal Breitenstein CH
Fred Austruy FR
Benoit Chauvet FR
Martxel Allibillaga Spain
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Timo has been competing in BMX, Dirt and Freeride for 15 years. His extensive firsthand experience in everything a young rider needs to know makes him the perfect team manager, but his insight goes even further than the obvious. Timo plans to not only teach the guys how to market themselves, communicate with sponsors and treat their fans and other riders, but also plans to also pass on his passion for the importance of health, fitness and working through injuries to maximize their performance for years to come.
 | The average top level rider has around 16 big events a year where they give 100%. With this it's normal to sustain a couple of concussions and nasty crashes a year as well as one big injury every 1-2 years. This is why I want to focus on more than just riding bikes with this team. I'll show them how to introduce yoga, nutrition, other sports and specific doctors to their lifestyles to help them learn how to strengthen their bodies and work through injuries while they are still young so they can have long and successful careers. - Timo |
Everyone is looking forward to seeing what this new kind of attitude can do for SCOTT Team Voltage.
The Photo and Video Shoot - Words by Timo Pritzel
The team met in Berlin to film a video and shoot some photos. The plan was to ride all the good trails and Spots around Berlin (there are many!) and mix it with a little Yoga, but then it rained for 4 days straight! I wanted to show those sides of being a Bike Pro that are important in my eyes and in my experience anyway so we also went to my Osteopath, and to my friends Cross Fit Studio. We also did a Yoga session with my wife Julia. It went pretty good and the riders were surprised that Yoga is not just a hippy thing on a sheepskin, it's really quite a workout.
I like how the the Scott Voltage Video starts in this unusual way, because I find it really important to talk about the subject of Injuries & Health. It is a negative side of being a pro rider that is rarely talked about.
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| It is scary that most riders never really have been to a Body Worker. But it's understandable because a lot of times when they see a doctor they're told to stop riding their bike. That's the worst thing a doctor can tell a rider when biking is his life. |
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| John Alm Hogmann, with all the rain we had to find new areas to ride. In downhill it is accepted that riders have a mental coach and have massages all the time, but in freeriding & dirt jumping most riders are on their own. There is a lot of mental pressure for many pro riders, many did not finish school and are living with the risk and the thought that it could all be over quick with a career ending injury. |
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| Sherwy and John using the new found flexibility of Yoga at the Berlin Wall! I'm telling you this because often when riders get started they have the idea that being a pro is just about having fun on your bike and it's the best job in the world, don't get me wrong it definitely is, but, I want them to hear the other side too. If you compete at the top level it's quite brutal on your body, lets say you compete in around 16 big events a year, plus film for a video part where you give 100%. It's almost normal to have a couple of concussions & big crashes a year, and one big injury every 1-2 years... And even more so now with the new big tricks like double flips and triple whips, or even just one big drop at the finish (like Crankworx) where you have to do a big trick over the 9 meter gap just for a chance at the podium. |
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| The team spent some time riding in the rain... Most riders think it is only about riding their bike and doing the newest trick, but it's much more than that. It's about learning how to market yourself, communicating with sponsors, realizing what's involved in the bike business, and also dealing with fans and other riders. When you are not liked as a person you won't go that far, you might win some events, but in the end cameras/magazines do stories about people that look good in public. And the bike industry is small, companies know when Riders are not professional. It's not just about the newest crazy Trick! |
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| Even the skaters were stoked with this table by John! |
Pinkbike asked Timo a couple of questions to sum up his thoughts on professional riding:
What advice would you give to anyone out there who wants to be a professional biker?Love what you do! Have Fun! Respect others, don't walk around with a big Ego, just because you are a pro biker. And understand that you have to work, organize and communicate and not only ride your bike.
I sometimes see riders that are not nice people but are really good riders... it might work for a little while, but not long, bad Karma always comes back!
I wish that more riders would understand what consequences big crashes have to your Body, it's so important to learn to listen to what your Body tells you and have good Body Workers! (Physio-Osteopath, Natural Medicine etc) If you want to compete or just ride for a long time at a top level you have to do your homework with stretching your Body and learning what is right thing to do after crashing and doing the right exercise next to cycling.
Any last words?Injuries are something we have to deal with... it's important to listen to your stomach feeling-your body and know your limits! Example: you rode all day, you are tired, and your friends are pushing you to learn a new trick, or at a contest you wanna try a new trick on a shitty jump because you are hyped up... in my experience that's when you get hurt.
When you have Fun on your Bike and listen to your body it all flows good.
When you have or have had an injury, really take your time and do everything possible to make it better! From good Food to Swimming to stretching exercise etc...
Riding is often mental... so when you stress injuries or other personal things... chill, try to have fun on your bike, and don't stress big tricks.
That's what it's about, riding with friends, not who does the biggest trick.
Enjoy Life.
You can find out more on the SCOTT website here
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THE most impressive, stylish trick I've ever seen is Timo's double-can hand-swap thing where he is totally off the side of his bike... in NWD4? I can't remember. He was honking into some big gaps with Cowan, shot in black and white and great slo-mo. You can keep your corked flips etc, Timo's is still my favourite trick of all time.
I hope this team does well. Timo really seems to be a good ambassador for riding.
-haha... I was talking to my DR. one day and he told me that... ( i was quite young ) so I looked at him puzzled.. huh I said. We discussed it further and at the end he simply looked at me and asked. " does it feel good ? " I said yes.. he finished with, well keep doing it then. haha. cool.
ArmyFork - There is no ONE right way. Each ailment and each body may require a unique approach. Please take you over opinionated comments elsewhere.
There may be natural medicines out there that are effective in treatment of certain ailments, but that doesn't mean that they are superior or even equal to modern drug equivalents. The best way to approach any form of medicine, standard or alternative, is to do your research on both of the options carefully, and through unbiased sources on the subjects, which do exist. There are many skeptical organizations that deal with medicine every day that only care about what the science says about a treatments efficacy, and that should be where you start.
Steve Jobs believed he could be saved by alternative medicine and undertook a diet over nine months to rid his body of his cancer, and in that time what was a relatively easy to remove cancer grew and spread, and became inoperable. And although Chiropracty is not Osteopathy, neck and spinal manipulation is common in both practices and it's what caused Kevin Sorbo (actor of Hercules fame) to be afflicted with both an aneurysm and strokes after a chiropractic manipulation.
Sources:
journals.lww.com/neurologynow/Fulltext/2011/07050/Hidden_Hercules__Actor_Kevin_Sorbo_reveals_his.15.aspx
www.skepdic.com/osteopathy.html
www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/chiropractic-vertebral-subluxations-science-vs-pseudoscience
skeptoid.com/blog/2011/10/05/a-lesson-in-treating-illness
www.macrumors.com/2011/10/20/steve-jobs-regretted-early-decision-to-delay-cancer-surgery
scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/03/dr_dean_ornish_turn_away_from_the_dark_s.php
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