What goal have you set yourself for the Swissultra instead?

I want to prepare better than usual for the Swissultra. As sport is not at the top of my priority list, I don't get to run, cycle or swim regularly anymore. That’s what I want to change now. The second goal would ideally be to be faster than last time. I think I have a good chance of finishing first. But above all, I want to enjoy the competition.

It seems like you're not the competition type at all?

Competitions are not of key importance for me. There's something insane about turning circles just to prove yourself that you're faster than the others. Rather than that it makes me proud that I rarely need a car, a train or any other technical means of transport, but complet distances on my own two feet. That was already the case when I was a boy. My siblings were given a ride by our mother. I wanted to get everywhere by myself. Therefore, I walked or cycled and was more self-reliant and independent.

So you're more likely to turn your everyday life into a competition?

Yes. I personally think it makes more sense to include sport into everyday life. I cycle to work in any weather. Once I cycled across the Schwäbische Alb at minus 30 degrees and my eye water froze. I like extremes. Also, I often went on vacation by bike, to friends in Istanbul, Berlin or Barcelona. And during my studies, I cycled a few times from Tübingen to Basel in the evening, because my current wife lived there. That was over 200 kilometers and took me eight hours.

A real challenge-man. Have you ever set yourself a goal and did not achieve it?

Good question. I fail more regularly in everyday life. Wether it’s with my own demands or keeping things in order. Mostly they are more subtle challenges that you can't control clearly. I often get lost in details. But not in sports, whereas demands and performance have been a perfect match so far.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that you achieve your sportive goals at  the Swissultra. As a world champion, many people are certainly counting on you. How proud are you of this title yourself?

To be honest, I think this title is wasted on me. Titles are inflationary anyway. The first one you get is something special. Achieving the second one, people say: "I didn't expect anything else anyway" and reaching the third title: "Yes, of course it's you! You can't impress anyone anymore. That’s why I don't make a big deal out of my world championship titles. Meighbors and a few colleagues at work know that I'm a world champion. But otherwise I don't think many do.

This month, another "title" or maybe more of a "mark" comes along. You turn 40 years old. What does it trigger in you?

I'm proud that at the age of 40 I'm not walking around with a beer belly yet. I'm still fit. I'm also not yet scared of a ten-time ultratriathlon. Physically, I actually only see some regression in regeneration, being a bit more resilient ten years ago. Other than that I became rather more squeamish psychologically. My strategy to counteract this is tosimply swim and bike as long as possible.