Interview with Lene Fruhwirth
Sigmund Freud, Pez candy and Helene Valerie Fruhwirth all come from Austria…
How often do you ride Schladming since its so close?
Lene: I have hardly never ridden in Schladming in the last 2 years. I am not very often at home (austria)so last year I haven’t even managed once to train there before the WC. But it’s a good track and I enjoy riding there.
Granted our ladies class in DH is not that large but you are winning everything since you got here?
Lene: Yes so far but the fast ladies will come soon I guess and than I have to give far more than 100 percent.
What motivated you to fly down to South Africa a month before the World Cup?
Lene: Mainly to get ready for the World cup races. I couldn’t afford me to go to NZ again and so I decided to go to South Africa. I was also keen to see another country, to spend time with my sponsor Morewood, ride at new spots and get an advantage out of coming earlier to ride on the WC track. I hope my plan will turn out well.
You have “Fuffyffu” written on your bike. What does that mean?
Lene: Its how my good friend Kai C. from NZ was calling me after we have watched MTV on TV and this guy whith his massive clock around his neck was called by his wife FuffyFu and we were laughing so much about this episode which we had never seen once again after this evening. And when I went over back to NZ or when he came to Europe I can’t remember excatly he gave me these Fuffyffu stickers he had made for me.
Who is the most awesome lady competitor out there right now?
Lene: Apart from DH chicks which are dominating the world cup circus. It’s my best friend Miriam she is a professional badminton player and she is the best for me.
What’s the URL of your website?
Lene: www.miss-downhill.com
Were you involved with any of the design on the site?
Lene: Yes I did my website.
What’s the sketchiest foreign hospital you have ever been to?
Lene: Maybe the one in Portugal in Gouveia. I broke my clavicula there but I waited until I came home to x ray it because i didn’t trust them there. But I have to say when I crashed in Schladming(AUT) and told the doctor my
rist hurts very bad and i can’t move my thumb and he said ” Yes maybe you have broken your ulna! I was nervous because on the thumb side is the radius and not the ulna… and another situation was that I had internal bleedings and the hospital was full or booked out and I had to sleep on the coridor and the whole night a neon light was blinking because it was broken and I had so much pain…nice night I can tell you.
Since you spend a lot of time using various airlines which is the best? I have had some bad experience taking bikes on various airlines before where they damaged my bike or charged me a huge fee to take it on board.
Lene: I have about 6 different flight cards now to collect miles and get free flights or a bike for free….France Airways, British Airways, Miles and More, United Airlines, Tuifly, Airberlin. But I prefer the British airways because you can take one bike with your for free and the second one cost you about 72 euros which is still cheaper than other airlines which are charging 23 euros per kilo. So for a bikebox of the weight of 32 kilos it cost you 736 Euros sometimes more than you have paid for your ticket.
You are also a ski instructor no?
Lene: No not really, I am a snowboard instructor.
You have a long list of sponsors. How did you get so many folks onboard to support you?
Lene: Basically I wrote a concept and then sent it to the marketing person via email or call them or meet the persons personal. And after that you have to be very patient. Most of sponsors are really professional and I have been working together with them since years.
What was your first DH bike and do you know where it is now?
Lene: It was a Hitec (Austrian made) and I think it is in Graz now ridden by a guy called Martin.
NSRMTB will help you save the cost of a phone call or typing an email, is there anyone you want to thank or say hello to out there?
Lene: Thanks…but you should see my Skype and cell phone bill. I think after this trip I will be broken. I say ‘ohe buk’ to my boyfriend and ’see you soon’ to my best friends and family in Austria.
Any good Austrian DH websites similar to ours?
Lene: I don’t know I must have a look first. But I like the downhill-board.com to be up to date.
Is there one round of the World Cup you look most forward to?
Lene: The one in Maribor. I love the track and the spectators are amazing.
What are the best things about being a professional Downhill racer?
Lene: At the moment I don’t feel very good the last weeks. Lots of things went wrong and it was pretty hard for me. But apart from the ups and downs as a racer, I think what I like most is to ride always new courses meet all kind of characters and of course to win.
Tags: helene fruhwirth
