"In the Turbo Cross I held back": 'Retired' Marcel Meisen reflects after 10th German title
"Don’t write that this is my comeback as a cyclocrosser," Marcel Meisen tells us when we contact him this week. Although he hung up his cyclocross bike after the World Championships in Liévin in February, he still lined up last weekend at the German cyclocross championship among the pros. The 37-year-old German also won that race, which made us curious about his story.
"My professional career is definitely over," Meisen laughs from the other side of the line. "I was very happy about that in February as well. The last few years were not easy. I had kind of had enough of everything that comes with being a professional rider. If you want to do it really well, you have to live it one hundred percent. But the fun came back quite quickly in the summer. Not that I really trained or had a plan during that time. I honestly didn’t want to race anymore."
But you still lined up in Bensheim. With what mindset?
"I thought: I’ll race just for fun. My old mechanic also immediately said he was up for it. It was also the first time in a long while that the championship was broadcast live on TV. That’s why I thought it was extra important to be there and put on a good show for people who were coming into contact with the sport for the first time. With a three-way battle until the last lap, that worked out well. Let’s hope it helps boost the sport, because it really needs it."
"That I ultimately took the title can only be because the level right now in Germany isn’t very high. I really didn’t know beforehand how good I would still be after those months off. The race rhythm and toughness weren’t there, I hadn’t trained hard either. It was a race won on technique and experience."
But you have to plan that a little, right? Otherwise, you don’t have a license?
"And yet, honestly, three days before the national championship, I still wasn’t sure if I would race (laughs). I had applied for a license some time ago anyway, because you can always use one. You never know if you might go to a road race with a club to help riders, then you need one. You only need to apply once through your club and that’s it. It wasn’t a big deal."
What did you do after your farewell in February?
"I actually didn’t have a real job this year. After more than twenty years living for my profession as a pro, it was nice to not have to do anything for a year and just enjoy it. If you start working now and find a good job, who knows when you’ll get the chance to recover for a longer period again. I usually only had three weeks of real rest each season. Now I notice I am slowly open again to doing something in the sport, as a team manager or working with young riders. Although I haven’t really applied anywhere yet."
We did see you once this winter in cyclocross though. During the Turbo Cross, where downhiller Martin Maes and ex-pro Bert De Backer raced ahead of you. Hard to understand.
"(laughs) I was the only real 'cross specialist at the start. To be clear: I didn’t insist on racing there myself, but I was asked by a German company that wanted to make a video there. They thought it was funny to bring the German champion along. I saw it as a 'show event' and I clearly held back. Also to keep it exciting for the spectators who came. It was on average 40 heartbeats lower than at the championship."
"Even though all participants were top-level athletes physically well trained, like Marten Van Riel (triathlete, editor’s note), you quickly notice at such an event that cyclocross is a very technical discipline, something not everyone masters. Paul Herygers also rides better on his 'bones' through sand than some pros. Cyclocross is a special discipline—you don’t forget it. So don’t underestimate that Turbo Cross."
Is the circle now complete with your tenth title?
"It sounds nice, but it doesn’t make much difference for my career. I want to say that this definitely wasn’t a comeback. It was a one-time thing purely for fun, although you never know if I might do it again next year. I noticed I still like doing it, but riding around without pressure is quite different from what I did during my career."
"I don’t want to do it more often necessarily. The German federation asked me to race the World Championships, which is always special. Especially given the unique atmosphere we’ll have in Hulst. But I’m not prepared to race against the international stars. So for now, you won’t see the German jersey in cyclocross anymore."
As you already mentioned: unfortunately, the fact that you won without preparation says a lot about the current state of German cyclocross. Is anything coming up there?
"We don’t have a real cyclocross culture in Germany like in Flanders or the Netherlands; nobody grows up with the sport. When there is a big talent who comes out of cyclocross, like Marco Brenner who is building his career at Tudor, the decision is quickly made to focus entirely on the road. In Belgium and the Netherlands, riders like Tibor Del Grosso and Thibau Nys combine disciplines; in Germany, that happens less quickly."
"And that is, of course, a shame for cyclocross. So only the guys who really love it remain, or guys who see opportunities in the national circuit and the championship. I think no rider who had hoped for the title was truly happy with my participation. Nationally it’s currently easy, but internationally it’s much harder for Germans to make a mark in cyclocross."
Finally: how do you look back on your career with 42 cyclocross victories, a World Cup podium, ten German cyclocross titles, and one on the road?
"I don’t think anyone in my youth could have imagined I would build that palmarès. It was always a dream to become a cyclocross pro. But gradually it got better and better, and at some point I also got my chance on the road. I never dreamed of going to the Tour de France, which many guys who ride bikes do say. I also don’t feel I missed out there. I do regret never having ridden the Giro d’Italia—that’s maybe something I deserved when I was riding so well in 2020."
"On the road, my dream was to race the Amstel Gold Race someday—that’s right near me, and I know every meter of that course. In 2019 I got that chance at Corendon-Circus. A fantastic day, because I was in the breakaway and Mathieu van der Poel won the race. My second dream was to become German road race champion. I got a rare chance to race against the best riders in my country. I often rode well there and, strangely enough, was able to finish it off in the bunch sprint."
"In cyclocross, you dream from youth of success at the World Championships, but I have to be honest that it was very hard to do that in my generation. Overall, I fulfilled a few of my dreams and got a lot out of my career. You can always be sad about the things that didn’t succeed, but I remember that I always gave my all and I’m very satisfied."
