“I was always too tall actually for the XL frame of every brand" - Michael Schär on the struggles of being a 6ft 5' pro cyclist

For nearly a decade and a half, Michael Schär competed at the very top level of road cycling, including eleven different editions of the Tour de France. 

For a man of Schär's size, 6-foot-5-inch (2m), clambering over some of cycling's most historic climbs such as Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux was no mean feat. “I was always too tall actually for the XL frame of every brand,” recalls the 37-year-old Swiss, in conversation with the Bobby & Jens podcast. 

Retiring at the end of the season, Schär will become a DS at Lidl-Trek. Hopefully, the former Swiss National Champion can put his experience to good use in regards to any cycling giants he meets in the future. 

“We tried so much different stuff: 180 cranks, then we had 190 cranks,” he details, before explaining how it turned out smaller was actually the right way to go. “It got more relaxed, my position. From a 150 to a 140 stem, to now it’s a 130. It’s always getting a bit more ready for retirement.”