Interview Cathi Rossmann: Suddenly Ötztaler winner

Cathi Rossmann is a hobby cyclist from Heppenheim. She started triathlon in her youth and rides a lot of road bikes in her free time. In 2022, she first won the individual TOUR Transalp for the women and then the Ötztal Cycle Marathon. In 2025, she won Istra300 and finished 6th in the Maratona dles Dolomites. The 36-year-old lawyer trained 41,411 kilometres on her racing bike last year and has around 45,000 followers on Instagram. In this interview, she reveals her goals and motivation.

TOUR: Is it really true that you are Victory at the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon didn't realise how important the race is?

Cathi Rossmann: Exactly. My introduction to bike racing was the TOUR Transalp 2022, after which I thought I had to take advantage of the form somehow and did some googling. That's when I came across the Ötztal Cycle Marathon. I really wanted to take part because the four passes appealed to me. I got a starting place and was pretty naive - I only realised in Sölden how big the race is.

TOUR: How did you prepare for the Ötztaler?

Cathi Rossmann: I had no idea how the catering worked - I knew from triathlons that you get it handed to you. I then heard that you can't go to the refreshment stations if you want to go fast and you need people at the side of the course. I couldn't organise this at short notice and then I just arranged with my friend that he would stand at the Brenner Pass. I had a few gels with me for the Ötztaler, but I was completely naive. I completely collapsed on the Timmelsjoch - I was really dizzy.

TOUR: It sounds like you have a strong psyche that you didn't get totally nervous at the start.

Cathi Rossmann: I was already intimidated at the start. I had been allocated a place in the 1st starting block (due to winning the TOUR Transalp) and everyone was there with such cool bikes and competition suits. At Kühtai I realised that I had good legs, but that I still wanted to hold back. On the Jaufen I realised that I was in really good shape today. I pulled away and then at some point the organisation drove up and said: "You're the first woman right now." I thought it was cool and somehow found it really funny and told them that I was still in Alpe d'Huez last weekend. I was doing really well until the climb down the Timmelsjoch. Then I thought to myself: "What's wrong with everyone? It's not that bad." Then I started to struggle with the energy on the Timmelsjoch.

Fight against energy deficit

TOUR: But you crossed the finish line as the winner. How did you experience the finish?

Cathi Rossmann: There are always these police motorbikes at the entrance to Sölden, they picked me up and then we drove the last few kilometres through Sölden with sirens blaring. I had goose bumps all over my body. It's just super cool because everyone was cheering and shouting for me. I always say it was like walking on air. I was also a bit overwhelmed, but on the other hand I was over the moon.

TOUR: You haven't been able to win the Ötztaler since then - was there a lot of pressure afterwards?

Cathi Rossmann: Of course you could feel the pressure - I didn't admit it to myself before the race. You also noticed in Sölden that you were approached everywhere, recognised everywhere and so on. And of course everyone is also looking to see what you're training for. I'm like an open book: you can follow everything on Strava. You get comments saying that you always train too much, don't take enough load off and so on. Of course you'd like to repeat the victory. But I also know that it was a very special race and that it may never be possible to repeat it. But what is always the most important thing for me is that I simply enjoy what I do, that I go my own way and do it in a way that makes me happy. Of course, I always do my best and always fight for every place, but I'm not so disappointed or so worn down by it that I absolutely have to do it again. But it would be nice if I could win again.

TOUR: Are you nervous at the start of races?

Cathi Rossmann: I'm actually always calm at the start because I think it's such a long day and I've always prepared myself in a way that suits me mentally and then what comes out in the end is what has to come out. I'm not dependent on it: whether I end up second, third or even fifth doesn't really matter. In the end, my life goes on the next day anyway. The races are more like the cherry on top, because in the end I enjoy the process and all the training so much that sometimes I don't even need the races.

TOUR: You have increased your annual kilometres from year to year - most recently almost to the extreme with over 40,000 kilometres. Was that really just because you ride for fun?

Cathi Rossmann: To be honest, if you want high performance, you shouldn't ride 40,000 kilometres. But for me, sport is always a balance to work and last year I had lots of opportunities to go cycling in different places, including lots of invitations. And when I'm in the most beautiful places, like the French Alps or the Dolomites, I always have to explore everything and cycle everywhere. Last year I took it to the extreme and the perspectives shift the more you drive. 200 kilometres feels like 100 kilometres and the body goes along with it.

TOUR: What kind of invitations have you received?

Cathi Rossmann: People often write to me when there's a cool bike marathon nearby asking if I want to come along. It's always hard for me to cancel and I like to ride along to such events, even if they aren't races. I always think it's super cool because you get to know lots of people who do what you like to do. You ride around the track in a group with fast people, get to know new routes and new places.

TOUR: You work full-time as a lawyer - how is it still possible to ride your road bike so much?

Cathi Rossmann: I always ride before work, in winter on the roller. My training times are always between 5:00 and 08:00 in the morning and sometimes in the evening after work. Fortunately, I have a relatively short commute to work, otherwise it wouldn't be possible. I don't have a family, so I'm actually single at the moment and then all my time is taken up with work and cycling. This year, however, I'm training with a training plan for the first time - I also have two days a week where I don't cycle but go running.

Cathi Rossmann relies on a training plan for the first time

TOUR: Why are you training according to a plan for the first time?

Cathi Rossmann: I've made a conscious decision to go with a firmly structured training plan now so that I'm not tempted to do too much again. I also want to see what else is in my body if I actually work in a structured way and focus more on relief. For me, it was actually always a one-size-fits-all approach, i.e. always the same loads, always a relatively high volume. My body coped with it, but I realised that there wasn't much of an adjustment in terms of speed. I teamed up with a trainer who customised it to me. It was also important for me to focus on nutrition during training and everyday nutrition.

TOUR: How do you do that specifically?

Cathi RossmannI now work with an app, just like the professional teams do, where I also have guidelines on how to organise my training. How many grams of carbohydrates I take for the training sessions and what I eat throughout the day. I used to ride super long hours at the weekend, sometimes two days in a row, 15 or 16 hours somehow, and then I couldn't keep up with the food. It was always unbalanced that I ate too little at the weekend and then too much during the week. My body was no longer able to adapt during training because it wasn't properly nourished. My trainer says that if I don't manage to eat what I consume, then we don't need to do intervals because the body won't adapt accordingly. I definitely notice a big difference when I eat in a structured way. I have a relatively consistent energy level and also feel better during the sessions.

TOUR: Do you find it difficult to train according to exact guidelines for the first time?

Cathi Rossmann: I thought it would be much harder for me. The fact that I also do intervals during the week and train in a more structured way makes it more strenuous for the body. I realise that the body has to adapt more and that's why I'm coping quite well with it. I like routines because routines give you security. I'm a security-loving person. But I realise that change is also fun sometimes.

TOUR: What events have you planned?

Cathi Rossmann: I start the season with the M 312 on Mallorca and then the second big highlight is the Ötztaler.

TOUR: So you still have a score to settle...

Cathi Rossmann: Yes, I really like the race and I always enjoy coming back to Sölden, no matter what the final result is.

TOUR: You get the impression that there are a lot of strong women coming up in amateur cycling - do you notice that?

Cathi Rossmann: Yes, definitely. The density has increased a lot and the girls who are strong have become younger. It used to be more women my age, in their mid-30s and early 40s, who were strong and now you realise that younger people are extremely good. That's also a cool thing and competition stimulates business.

TOUR: You have a lot of followers on social media and that always has two sides - it can also be problematic...

Cathi Rossmann: In any case - you have to work in a measured way. That's why I'm not someone who presents herself in a sports bra or with an open jersey or goes down this sex sells route in inverted commas. For me, it's about providing motivation for people who are also working: how you can manage your everyday life so that you can still fit in a good workout. I convey motivation to people and get lots of messages about it. And that gives me the motivation to keep going. Many people write to me: "You're such a cool role model. I've now also tried getting up earlier in the morning and doing a session before work." You have to be honest, a lot of people think they know you extremely well via social media and know everything about you, but in the end it's five or ten minutes of my everyday life.

TOUR: Do you sometimes have problems with negative comments?

Cathi Rossmann: Because cycling is a very male-dominated sport, around 65 per cent of my followers are men and the rest are women. Men sometimes write stupid messages where you think it's inappropriate, but then I don't respond to them at all. Of course, you also expose yourself to criticism or stupid comments. You often get ten good or nice messages and one stupid message and then you still sometimes get hung up on these stupid messages. Of course, there are also some old warhorses who have never eaten on a bike who write to you: "What are you eating all this food for?" I try not to let that get to me, but there are always two sides to social media.

TOUR: Do you really always feel like training - even when it's raining outside?

Cathi Rossmann: I rarely don't really feel like it because I always know that when I'm out on my bike, I'm always fine. I never actually regret it when I'm out on my bike and I also cycle relatively varied routes or sometimes I just set off and let myself drift and just see where I end up. If it's really bad weather, I ride on the rollers.

TOUR: You also wrote on social media that you want to have more time for social and dating life in 2026. Was that also a thought to do something different?

Cathi Rossmann: Yes, definitely. So you also realised that you're stuck in a routine, in a hamster wheel, always doing the same thing. That was also an impetus for me to do things differently.

TOUR: You're probably always outpacing the men?

Cathi Rossmann: That really is a big problem. Either they are intimidated or they have to prove to you that they are just as fast and ride extremely hard. I have a training colleague here with whom I always ride together at the weekend and we are a really well-rehearsed team. We don't even have to talk to each other, we already know when to take breaks and what pace to ride at. When we're at events again, you really notice when people want to prove to you that they're good riders

TOUR: There is a very bad event in your life: the death of your twin sister on a racing bike...

Cathi Rossmann: She really was torn from life. It was a cycling accident that happened from one moment to the next (editor's note: she was run over by a lorry). We were in our early 20s and I actually wanted to go on this training ride with her that day. If I had been there, we probably both wouldn't have been there. You think you can't go on living when something like that happens to you. The first two years were extremely bad for me. You have to get used to the idea that life goes on. It's become part of my story and I've learnt to live with it. What I was always afraid of was forgetting her face or laughter or voice, but I still have that in my head. I think about my sister every day and especially a lot when I'm out on my bike.

TOUR: I imagine it would be difficult to get back on a bike after such a trauma...

Cathi Rossmann: I quickly got back on my bike to minimise this hurdle or barrier in my mind. But I already had a lot of respect back then, whenever a lorry drove past me. That has since subsided, but you can still tell that this aggression in road traffic has increased dramatically and that's why I really like cycling early in the morning, because there is simply so much less traffic.

TOUR: Such an incisive experience certainly changes you as a person.h?

Cathi Rossmann: I now have a special mentality. If I have a problem that I know I won't be interested in two days or two weeks from now, then I don't get hung up on it at all. Or if I can't change something, then I don't put so much energy into it because that's wasted energy. If I can't change something, then I just have to try and deal with the situation. Or I always think to myself, if I have any opportunities in life that arise: just do it, because who knows what will happen. You never know what's going to happen, you have to celebrate the festivals as they fall and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way and not put things off.