Small in stature she may be, but Vali Höll packs a punch the fastest women in the world already fear. Born on the short side of the millennium and raised among the deep greens of the Saalbach Valley by bike-enthusiast parents with a ski lodge, Vali seemed preordained for success in the action sports world. Riding motorbikes and taking to the snow not long after her first steps, she signed a 6 year contract with YT at just 13 years old. Racing in the sparsely populated junior women's category at her first World Cup in 2018, Vali was unknown to most, but already decked out in the blue and silver quarters of a Red Bull helmet. Under a weight of expectation that would have crushed many others, she went from strength to strength.
Vali's first win in Croatia, turned into a perfect season, topped off with a gold medal. 2019 saw her again breeze the overall and defend her World Championship title, laying down podium times in the elite category that continued to turn heads. Whether we could see her carry her bright white kit and rainbow stripes into 2021 following her first elite race on her home track is a question the calm and collected competitor would rather you didn't vocalise. Not to be mistaken for being aloof, Vali's quiet demeanour seems to be the making of a wise woman; a true professional set to be at the very tip of the sharp end for years to come. Young talent personified, she is the literal future of the sport.
 | I'm Vali Höll and I'm 18 years old, recently graduated from school, straight out of a mountain town called Saalbach in Austria. And I get to race downhill World Cups.—Valentina Höll |
| I don’t really remember how I first got into bikes, but I guess through my parents. When they came back from a trip to Whistler, my dad started building a trail and that was where I started out. My whole family is into biking, even my grandpa. He's 67 and still goes ‘freeriding’. My little brother is not so into biking… let’s say it that way haha—VH |
| My dad is from Saalbach, my mum from Munich. I grew up in this amazing valley at the Spielberghaus. It’s a cosy ski lodge on the mountain, built by my grandparents. My family hosts guests who are here to bike and ski and enjoy the tasty traditional food.—VH |
| Without my parents I wouldn’t be there where I am. It’s a privilege to have such supportive parents, without pushing me to do well. My dad was always my mechanic, chauffeur, cook and my main arguing partner!—VH |
| My earliest role models were Angie Hohenwarter and Rob J. They were, still are, the stars of the German-speaking biking scene. I learnt so much from Angie, not only how to ride a bike, but also how to present yourself to sponsors and what you can give them to get support back.—VH |
| As for other inspiration, I remember watching the Atherton Project years ago. I couldn’t really understand English that well at the time, but I was such a big fan of Rachel and the cool stuff they got up to.—VH |
| I wouldn’t call myself a 'pro rider', but apparently people call others a 'pro' when they start getting money. Red Bull and I were in contact for quite a while; I think we started talking in 2014, when I was 13. I got to take part at camps and get some free Red Bull Organic Cola. When I turned 16 I got the helmet, which was one of my biggest dreams, besides becoming World Champion!—VH |
| SRAM was also a long-time supporter from back then and as we didn’t really know anyone on the World Cup scene it was an easy choice because they had the sickest setup. I got my very own mechanic and I could still keep my own sponsors.—VH |
| My first ever World Cup was Losinj in 2018 and it was really tough for me. Obviously wearing the Red Bull helmet is not an easy task, especially if you haven’t really achieved something yet. Nobody knew who I was.—VH |
| It’s crazy that now after finishing school I can do what I always wanted to do; travel around, ride sick trails and hang out with the best people. And I don't have to beg my parents to help me out.—VH |
| I love riding Whistler, Schladming and sometime soon I would like to go and check out New Zealand, but there’s more and more awesome riding here in the valley. Saalbach-Leogang-Fieberbrunn is the biggest bike area in Austria—VH |
| I got my first motorbike when I was 3 years old. All my friends were boys, so I really enjoyed to play in the mud all the time. This August I bought a new GasGas which is the best for messing around in the woods by the chalet.—VH |
| People have always said I have the same cornering style as my mum. I ride lots with her, she is my roadbike buddy and sometimes she tries my workouts too. My mum gets super nervous when she comes to watch the races. I don’t think she enjoys it, but is happy when I’m at the finish. She doesn’t care what result I get as long as I’m in one piece.—VH |
| This summer I've been doing some intervals at the new pumptrack in Leogang as part of my training. Just one minute can hurt really, really bad! And you don’t really wanna crash on one of those laps.—VH |
| This year's World Champs in Leogang will be my first elite race. It makes me really nervous to be honest.—VH |
| When I read my name in articles as one of the 'favorites' it's really weird. I mean I haven’t raced a World Cup in a whole year. No one knows how my performance is compared to all the others. I’m still a rookie, so I hope I can enjoy Worlds at home and not stress myself out too much just because some people expect something. I just hope I'm able to do my best and be happy with it, and if not, I still have few more years to do better!—VH |
| Generally speaking, I never go into a race with too much self-confidence. There were rare cases in where I said, 'I will win today', but I always set myself realistic goals, which I think is important. Ski racing as a kid helped me with the mindset and also some of the technique like setting up for corners, which is super key on flat grass turns like we have at tracks like Les Gets.—VH |
| I'm optimistic what's to come with young racers on the scene. Take the Rookie's Cup. It used to be only Anna Newkirk and me, now they even have a girl's and a boy's category. There are some fast 12 year olds in Austria, I better watch out! I don't remember many women racing for Austria at World Cups since Angie and Petra Bernhard.—VH |
| I really admire Caroline Buchanan and also Kathi Kuypers. They're not scared to hit the dirt jumps and try out tricks. Whether it’s a 360 or a backflip. I would like to learn a flip, but I'm too scared right now.—VH |
| Once you reached a level of technique on the bike it's hard to progress a lot, so you have to start working on your fitness, balance, concentration. It's not only important for your bike performance, but also it helps a lot with injury prevention. Knock on wood, I've not had too many bad crashes. I did tear my kidney when I was 13, but since then luckily nothing major.—VH |
| I've trained with my fitness coach, Phil, for 4 and half years now. We have a good understanding of each other and he has a lot of experience from a high-level of ski-racing. Now that I don’t have to go to school anymore I can’t wait for the winter to see what we can do in the gym.—VH |
| This year, besides gym work, I also spent more and more hours on the turbo-trainer or the road bike. In the summer I would say I ride a bike 3 times a week, either Enduro or DH. In the winter last year I didn't ride my bike from November to January, then it was just 1 week of riding until March. Hopefully that rate can start to improve now without all the study time.—VH |
| Right now we're doing lots of sprints and high-intensity workouts. We've been doing shorter sessions to avoid any fatigue and I can be all rested for the World Champs.—VH |
| My advice for young female riders getting into the sport would be to shred with the boys. They're the ones to try to hang on behind. That’s the only way you will get fast, at least as long as there aren’t more Pro women around.—VH |
| Years down the line, I hope I could achieve what I wanted and that kids want to follow my same route. I hope I'll have a family by then with little shredders... Let's call it 20 years...—VH |
| I would like to thank my family, the 'SRAM fam' and everyone who's supported me on the way.—Vali Höll |
I've never seen a female squat 120 who wasn't an olympic lifter. I'm sure Rachael and Thanee won't even get close to that. Valli is just on another level.
Although i use the Lidl one, even bigger. Plus the amount you have to spend to fill the bag at Lidl is far less. Everone's a winner.
Someone might be unimpressed if you tell them you can lift 40 pounds. Until they realise you mean £40 of shopping at Lidl, which on an average shop will include (but is not limited to):
- A week's worth of food shopping for a family of four.
- 24 cans of off-brand lager.
- 3 kettle bells.
- Hammer drill.
- Novelty dog bed.
- Metal rack shelving units.
- Solar powered Buddah garden statue.
Either way, this comment section is turning into an impressive display of armchair athlete strength expertise. Right down to the point that we're daring to name numbers. Armchair engineering is soo last week.
Just look at Richie Rude, yes, it's a blocky strong dude, but go to your minimally serious CrossFit gym or even track and field club and you'll see dozens of guys like him, lifting the same or way more. This is not in any way diminishing Richie, on the contrary it just shows he's doing the right work.
Track and field it's actually a pretty good example, as even non strength related athletes like sprinters or jumpers have known for ages the value of serious strength training
very strong. Doubt that's her PR, but also doubt she wants or needs to train to max either. A high measure of leg strength could be her competitive advantage, but other racers might not need a 2X BW squat to go fast. Wonder if Rachel can squat 300lbs?
I read some study where the key ingredients to going fast downhill were primarily technique, and hand/grip/arm strength.
Hand/ grip strength is an interesting one, because it's well correlated with overall strength. So in-and-of itself it may not be a determining factor but what it represents behind the scenes is.
In all seriousness, if you don't think those guys could manage it you should watch a 67kg Nino squat 160 for reps. I've known plenty of guys Greg's size who could squat ATG with 2X bodyweight and they were endurance athletes, not strength specialists.
About Nino's squats, a quick search only got me 3 videos of him squatting, both of which showing, at most, quarter squats:
m.facebook.com/NinoSchurter/videos/10153897316813910
youtu.be/0YOD1yXdOhE
youtu.be/xW-nWnl5hYk
Like I said, only a quick search, so there's like footage that I missed. In any case, I'm open to be corrected if you have more footage of him.
Anyway, nothing wrong with a quarter squat, it might even have a place in one's training, but it is what it is, a quarter squat. By "squat" most people understand a "full squat", which is relevant if we are to compare apples to apples
I'm 85kg @ 193cm, busted my ass for 6 mo in the offseason with a trainer, got my squat up to 80kg, gained 5 kg came back and was utterly worthless on the bike, took me 3 mo to get back my legs. Now back in the gym, my squat sucks. It's a balance, I'm sure I could get a 2x BW squat of if I gained 10 kg and spent a year doing it...but again, whats the point besides?
I value my anonymity too. But my experience of training with and observing/ advising dozens of athletes (many of them elite, and some world champions) is relevant and has arguably given me an eye for this kind of thing than most.
I'm not on FB so I didn't watch the 1st video.
youtu.be/0YOD1yXdOhE?t=125 There's a good distance between the base of the plate and the spotter arm to his left in the background, and he descends until the bar is only 2-3 cm above the arm; My guess is Nino descends 40 - 45 cm, roughly the length of the femur for someone of his height. So his femur would have been close to, if not parallel at the bottom of the squat. There are 3 plates that I can see on the bar, so he was squatting 130kg at least.
youtu.be/xW-nWnl5hYk?t=319 While standing Nino's naval is roughly in line with the bottom of the mirror he's using. He reaches depth when his chin is at the bottom of the mirror, again a difference of approx 40 - 45cm.
@RadBartTaylor: To an extent, yes. Body morphology and anthropomorphic dimensions do influence an individuals ability to hit prescribed numbers... in the general population. But athletes within a sport and the demands on them are rarely so different from one another that these kind of seemingly broad conclusions can't be drawn. You wouldn't prescribe the same goals as a percentage of BW to a sumo wrestler and a gymnast, but you could do it within groups as a way to set a minimum standard.
I would actually be surprised if MVdP couldn't hit more than 1.5xBW in the gym. You only have to go back 10 years, when mountain bikers at the Olympics were considered off-road roadies to see the ignorance associated with mountain bikers avoiding lifting seriously for performance.
Rowers might be a suitable group of athletes you could compare yourself to. They're typically taller and heavier than you at elite level, but not by much. A table of recommended strength standards was presented some years ago here: peakcentre.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/strength-goals-for-rowers
It's generally accepted that these standards are too low for the stated levels, but it's a useful benchmark nonetheless. Happy Training!
The 2xBW squat is not a minimum required to become elite, but Vali is seen hitting it here (technically 1.85xBW) and I felt the need to the address some of the responses here. Because as badass as it is, it is a realistic and achievable target for would-be elites (or thosr that just want to push themselves) to set in training to support their development and longevity. It is not a requirement to compete but it will provide a great foundation for all your other training. Assuming sufficient ambition, uninterrupted and dedicated training, and proper periodization and coaching it should be achievable within 2 - 3 seasons for most riders.
Now with DH and Rowing, 4 to 6ish min efforts, I can see the benefits, but anything requiring W/Kg, I struggle with...
Weight training is valuable for more than just how you look and feel. For starters, it promotes better overall health and helps with injury prevention and recovery. It improves bone density, tendons, ligaments, posture, kinesthetics (body awareness). It increases your ability to produce force (sprinting), perform repeated anaerobic efforts and resist load/ hold a position. All handy for DH I think you'd agree.
Without speculating on the reasons, I find your experience very atypical. Simple principles, correctly applied should produce an 8-10% increase each month up to the level we're discussing.
Consider, a 75kg athlete, with a 50kg squat, adding the minimum weight possible to the bar each week (2×1.25kg plates) would achieve a 2xBW squat in 4 years, assuming 4 months of off-season weight training, a de-load/ rest week every 4 weeks and a 10% loss in max strength over the race season. This is a very conservative example though; Using appropriate progression and workout selection I'd aim for 3-5% increase each week and prescribe maintenance sessions during the competitive season to prevent substantial de-training.
Finally, once someone has reached a good level of strength it's no longer a relative weakness, and they've laid a solid foundation for other, more complex and specific ( read: interesting and fun!) work.
Truth is - she has her own dreams - and they are none of my business.
But it's hard - as a parent these days - with these kids that have no passion.
My children can choose what they want, but social media, playing games and watching YT/Cartoon does not count
My 11 year old son was resistand to MTB, but he got into BMX, so I hope one day he will ride with me. My 8 year old doughtier rides MTB and is tough as nails.
We have been riding together for about 7 years now. I was going to buy her a Druid for her birthday but she told me she would rather keep riding her beaten up 2015 Process.
I have so much to be grateful for in life, but nothing comes close to how lucky I am with my relationship with my daughter.
I suspect that some day she will no longer like hanging out with her dad, but until that happens, she will continue to be my #1 riding buddy.
However I am drawing the line at social media accounts for these kids. They can start using IG when they get their own apartment.
I had zero interest in sport, activities or anything really until my mid-twenties - despite my dad and my brother both being big into rugby.
Then a friend of mine took me surfing. I got fit, i got an epic new hobby, a new love of the outdoors, a new taste for excitement and adventure and a completely new outlook on life.
The buzz of riding waves took me to different places around the world to find more waves and led me to new activities to keep the stoke going - climbing, snowboarding (again, to different places around the world) and, of the last few years, mountain biking.
There is no way my dad would have imagined i'd be showing him pictures of me surfing a wave in Bali or on top of a snow-covered mountain in the Alps. Quite frankly, even in my early 20's i wouldn't have believed it myself.
So... i guess, you never know? Hope that helps.
I read a good article once that says "even if you think your kid has no passion they still have passion you just can't see it - all kids have things they love to do"
So in many respects I have humbled myself to the fact that just because I cannot observe a "tangible" passion doesn't mean she isn't driven.
She's an amazing girl. Beautiful, witty, hilarious, etc.. But I suppose the root of my comment is I know for a fact how athletic she is. I've seen so many examples of it in her 17 year life so far and there's always going to be part of me that's like "are you kidding me that you don't use this athleticism?"
We also know that having parents that are athletes can be a two way street for kids. They either gravitate to that or despise it.
But like DidNotSendIt says below - ya never know - she's got her whole life ahead of her God Willing and it's my job not to stand in her way.
As for Vali, she rocks. So good to see, so good for the sport. That win at Crankworx must have felt so good.
The action sport world may be different, I know both Minaar and Kerr enjoy their MX.
And coming from a ski racing background she can probably squat more than 120 kg
Vali is right though, you do need to ride with boys at the moment to get that quick. Girls are getting better all the time and having a role model like Vali is only gonna help but we're not quite there yet in being flat out fast.. maybe in places like Whistler it's a different story but the fast girls are few and far between in Europe I think.
This said, regardless of gender it always helps to ride with people better, faster and stronger than you. For Vali, these may often be guys. But for most of us guys, riding with someone like Vali or Rachel could teach us a thing or two too!
And congrats on Innsbruck too!