As Palzer points put himself though, to switch from one top sport to another is no mean feat. "If I told
Chris Froome or
Primoz Roglic to try and break my record SkiMo time on one of the biggest mountains in Germany, I am pretty sure that they would not survive this," he laughs. "So my process was normal, and it is different trying to change sports when you are 28 years old than if you are only 20."
In his first Grand Tour at the 2021
Vuelta a Espana, Palzer really saw the struggle at its worst. "I realise now that I was fucked," Palzer recalls. "I had gained 10kg because of water in my body, it was really shit."
Nevertheless, Palzer has shown enough to be rewarded with a new deal by BORA - hansgrohe, and in 2024 will even be on the same team as Roglic.
"Cycling is about what you have learned. Now, I know that the flat stages in cycling are also easy for me. But when you are completely new in the sport, then also the flat stages are hard for you because of the battle for positioning in the peloton," he assesses of his development. "Now I am more into it, cycling has become easier and I can focus on the really hard climbing stages. Cycling is a lot more fun for me now."