Elisabeth Brandau | From Schönaich for Tokio 2020

Elisabeth Brandau is a standout in the world of cycling. And that's not just because of the orange team colours or the bright white jersey she will be wearing during the 2019 season as the incumbent German Champion. The cyclo-cross and mountain bike specialist from Schönaich has been doing things her way from the very beginning. Such as sleeping on the beach in a throw tent from the supermarket the night before the race. And then winning the race. 2020 will be a special year for the mother of two: she will be going to Tokyo to participate in the Olympics. FAULHABER will be right there with her.

Passion, motivation, technology – even cycling needs the right kind of drive. While hobbyists and leisure cyclists are increasingly enjoying electric bicycles – which require compact and powerful drives – they are completely off limits for professionals like Elisabeth Brandau. But the two-time German Cyclo-cross Champion also has to find the right balance between technology, fitness, talent and driving style for every race. "Cycling is only about a third of it, the rest is planning as well as physical and mental fitness."
When she was a junior, Elisabeth Brandau was a successful road cyclist, German mountain race champion, and took part in the Junior World Championships in Canada. Eventually she put an end to this pursuit to have more time for her refrigeration plant engineer training and master craftsman certificate. She only cycled for fun at that time. Her first mountain bike was bought in 2006, she became German Hobby Champion in the marathon category in 2007 and German Champion in the professional category and subsequently joined the national squad for the first time in 2008. In 2012 she became German Marathon and German Mountain Bike Sprint Champion.

In 2013 she founded her own team, the Radon Elisabeth Brandau Energie Racing Team (Radon-EBERacing), for which she still rides today despite offers from other teams. "If I'm not 100% committed mentally, then its completely futile. So I'd rather do things my way." Such was the case in a race in Spain. "My budget was pretty tight, and I didn't want to strain it any more by staying at a hotel." She found a cheap throw tent at the supermarket, borrowed a blanket and slept on the beach of the camping grounds. High-maintenance is not her thing, she prefers to keep it down to earth. She won the race the next day. "I compete against Olympians and World Cup participants in these races. Many have no idea that I'm a mother of two, and they are quite surprised when they find out,” Elisabeth Brandau grins.
Only very few active riders at the top level are also mothers. Training camps with the national team are almost like a vacation for her. "Good sleep for a couple of nights and regeneration, I love it." But when in doubt, Elisabeth Brandau would rather forego a training session if it means that she is separated from her family again after a competition. Now that the children are at daycare and in kindergarten, she makes a conscious effort to train in the morning. Then she picks up the children at noon, cooks, takes care of the household, organises the next few races, talks to her sponsors, holds lectures and much more.

Obviously, her Radon-EBE-Racing team has to take more direct responsibility as a result. The team consists of top athletes, junior athletes and amateurs and competes in national and international races such as World Cups, European and World Championships. In the end it was the team who convinced the mother of two to have her comeback after her maternity leave in 2017. "After my second son was born, I was completely out of touch with cycling. I probably would have quit cycling if it wouldn't have been for the team meetings. They got me back in the saddle and got me excited about the sport again. I told myself: you gave birth to two children, you can do this too. And I owed it to my team."
The year of her comeback, 2018, became the most successful year of her career with two German championship titles, the silver medal at the World Championships with the relay and the qualification for Olympia 2020 in Tokyo. At one point, she made it all the way to 8th place in the world ranking from 275th. On the side she was also completing her training as a naturopath.

Elisabeth Brandau also does it her way when she is racing. At the World Cup in Albstadt 2018 she was the only one to consistently ride the B-line. "It was very slippery and everyone but one rider slipped. I wanted to avoid that, I'd rather lose 4 seconds and stay on a safe line. I have two kids who also want to be picked up and held the day after the race." In Albstadt she made it onto the podium of a World Cup race for the first time. She aims to repeat this accomplishment in 2020. In addition to being successful at the Olympics. Starting in 2019, Elisabeth Brandau and her entire team will be sponsored by FAULHABER.