Manuel Fumic: Zigzagging to Rio

The German mountain bike manufacturers rubbed their hands when the young man with the beaming smile and the perky hairstyle climbed to the top of the podium as the newly crowned U23 world champion. There he was, the ambassador they so desperately needed, the new beacon of hope who also went down well with the girls. His name: Manuel Fumic.

He seemed nicer than his brother Lado, six years his senior, who was also a successful mountain biker and just missed out on a medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, finishing fifth in cross-country. But Manuel did not let himself be cut from the family ties. He needed the strong shoulder of his big brother, who had brought him to mountain biking and who was still a role model for him. Together with him, he wanted to rock the bike stage.

F.B.I messed with associations
But the two brothers never really managed to break through to the absolute top of the world. In major races, they only achieved places of honor, no medals. When T-Mobile withdrew from mountain bike sponsorship, Manuel and Lado Fumic decided to found their own team, the "Fumic Brothers International" racing team, or F.B.I. for short. But F.B.I also struggled in its pursuit of the world's best....

You can find the whole article in the issue 02/2013