Anton Palzer: "I knew for sure that this new journey would be super tough, but it’s been great"

BORA - hansgrohe's Anton Palzer is one the riders in the pro peloton with the less traditional background in the sport. Last year, at age 28, he made his debut as a professional rider with the German team. Less than a year, he's learn a lot, made his Grand Tour debut, and is one of the most recognizable riders in the peloton due to his classic Red Bull helmet.

On a recent interview with Cycling Weekly, Palzer discussed a wide spectrum of topics. Asked about his experience so far as a professional rider, which will only a year old in April, he's had this to say: “I didn’t know what the f**k I was doing. I am new to cycling, but everyone’s given me the feeling of being welcome. I have raced at the Vuelta, the highest level of cycling. It’s completely crazy. I’m new to the simple things like grabbing a bottle from the car, and I even had to have explained to me during a race how we ride in a convoy.

“I knew for sure that this new journey would be super tough, but it’s been great. It was exactly what I was looking for. I always hoped that I would feel comfortable in cycling and after a few races I felt better. I learned so much and that everything is possible," Palzer added.

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“When I crashed in SkiMo [Ski Mountaineering, where he was a professional before doing the same in professional cycling], or if I was injured from running, I stopped training and stopped going to competitions. But cycling is different: if you have pain, you still ride, you still do the basics. At the Vuelta I crashed pretty hard on one stage and I had so much pain. But for a cyclist it was normal - I just had to get on with it.”

After signing a contract in April of 2021, Palzer has become a frequent face on the BORA - hansgrohe's lineups, having done 49 race days which have included a Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España. “It was super-stressful for me. The power needed on the climbs and also to stay in the peloton. Every time we began a climb or a downhill it was really stressful for me. Every evening I was brain-f**ked.

“The team said I would do the Vuelta in May and I said to the DS that it was way too early for me to do a Grand Tour. I didn’t think I'd ever do a Grand Tour in my cycling career! They said it was super important for my process in becoming a good cyclist, and I have to admit now that it was a super special experience for me and my shape grew so much that I felt really comfortable in the Vuelta," he added.

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He was then selected to ride and completed the Vuelta a España, despite initial struggles to believe it was actually going to happen to soon: “I was saying to Felix Großschartner, the team leader, that I know I can’t help in the tough climbing stages, and that he should go to the team and say he needs a strong climber. But Felix was so nice and he was saying it was super important that I was there. F**k, he was the leader, but he supported me more than I supported him! He gave me so much during the race.”

It has objectively been a very loaded start of a career on the road for the German rider. His speciality hasn't yet been truly discovered and his schedule for the year has not yet been perfectly traced out, however BORA seem to have big plans as he heads to his second season with the team.

“When you look at my race calendar, I am doing big races like the Tour de Suisse and the Tour of the Alps where all the big guys from the Grand Tours are. It’s super-tricky for me to race for results. The leaders are the other riders on the team, not me. Success is to grow more into a helper position, to support the big leaders by riding longer on the climbs. I now feel super confident. I am not afraid of falling or crashing; I am more in the flow. My numbers are good already and I’m positive.”