What It Really Takes To Build A World Cup Champion | Markus Stöckl

Markus "Max" Stöckl has spent more than two decades shaping World Cup downhill racing, discovering future stars, building championship-winning teams and helping athletes reach the very top of the sport. In this episode, the MS Racing founder joins us to discuss what it really takes to build a World Cup champion. We explore how downhill racing has evolved over 24 seasons, why commitment remains the single biggest predictor of success and how modern athletes have to master far more than just riding a bike. Markus shares stories from working with riders including Danny Hart, Laurie Greenland, Mio Suemasa and many more, explaining how identifying talent has changed and why understanding personalities is now just as important as understanding performance. Beyond the racing, we also lift the curtain on what it takes to run a professional World Cup team. From mechanics, logistics and sponsorship to nurturing junior riders and managing a global race programme, Markus explains why today's sport demands more than ever before. We also look back on his incredible career outside team management, including organising some of mountain biking's biggest events and setting multiple world speed records on a production mountain bike. Whether you're interested in racing, coaching, athlete development or simply understanding what separates good riders from great ones, this is a fascinating conversation with one of the sport's true pioneers. A huge thanks to BOA for providing the studio space and support that made this episode possible. Learn more about BOA here: https://www.boafit.com/ #DownhillMTB #MountainBiking #WorldCupDH Photo Credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool Podcast Stuff Listener Offers Downtime listeners can now get 10% off of Stashed Space Rails. Stashed is the ultimate way to sort your bike storage. Their clever design means you can get way more bikes into the same space and easily access whichever one you want to ride that day. If you have 2 or more bikes in your garage, they are definitely worth checking out. Just head to https://www.stashedproducts.com/downtime and use the code DOWNTIME at the checkout for 10% off your entire order. And Just so you know, we get 10% of the sale too, so it’s a win win. Patreon You can support the podcast to help it keep going and improving by heading over to   / downtimepodcast   Merch If you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at https://downtimepodcast.teemill.com/ Newsletter If you want a bit more Downtime in your life, then you can join my newsletter where I’ll provide you with a bit of behind the scenes info on the podcast, interesting bits and pieces from around the mountain bike world, some mini-reviews of products that I’ve been using and like, partner offers and more. You can do that over at https://www.downtimepodcast.com/newsl... Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don’t forget to follow it. Each episode will get delivered to your device as soon as it’s available and it's totally free. You'll find all the links you need at https://www.downtimepodcast.com/follo... You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at https://www.downtimepodcast.com/episo... #mountainbike #downtimepodcast #mtbpodcast