It's always stimulating to hear a
young man talking enthusiastically about his passion. Tobias Micko
couldn't be more committed to Orienteering, after a short but really
promising career. And leaves a warning: “You won't get rid of me
that easily!”
I would start by asking you who is
Tobias Micko?
Tobias Micko (T. M.) - Well, I
was born on 24th March 2000, which means I will turn 17 very soon. I
live in Bad Vöslau, a small town south of Vienna. My main ambition
lies with MTBO, but currently I am also a student at the Multimedia
Department of “Die Graphische”, a kind of college for
media-related careers, where I'm getting my education in photography,
film, animation, web-design, etc. Obviously, I play around with
cameras a lot, but I also like mountain sports like ski touring and
backcountry skiing, hiking and other outdoor activities like
o-mapping.
When did you find out that MTBO
would be your orienteering discipline for life?
T. M. - I think, I'll have to
explain that a bit: I grew up in an orienteering family, so I was
into it from the beginning. I began to compete seriously aged 12, and
when I became a member of the Austrian Youth team aged 13, I was
already one of the best orienteers of my age group in Austria. But
then I ran into troubles: I have always had knee problems, but by the
end of 2014 they got so bad that I had to stop running for some
months. At this time I met the Hnilica family, a big name in Austrian
MTBO, and started to bike a little. The MTBO youth team didn't have
enough members then to form a Relay team for the European
Championships 2015 in Portugal – so, after a short time, I was
introduced to the sport and became the missing member of the relay
(laughs).
Having taken good care of my body,
after a few months I was able to run again, so I started training and
took part in the ISF School World Championship in Turkey, where my
results weren't that bad (I finished 5th and 6th). This was my first
experience with orienteering at an international level and I
continued with the sport. At that time I didn't have much experience
with MTBO, I just competed in some races, but in June I was ready for
the European Championships 2015 in Portugal. My results were okay and
I continued with biking. I competed in Plzen where I met the whole
team for the first time and then took part in the World Championships
in Liberec. That autumn we also organized an MTBO competition in my
hometown, which was very successful.
For 2016 my main goals were the EYMTBOC
in Portugal and the EYOC in Poland. Training went well, but I always
felt my knee a little bit – it was never really okay. And there was
also this decision I had to make for myself: Which discipline should
I focus on. It was a very burdensome time for me, but the problems
somehow disappeared. By coincidence, the qualification race for the
EYOC I wanted to run was on the same weekend as the first round of
the World Cup 2016 in France, and just 5 days before this weekend my
knee felt so bad that I decided to compete in France instead of EYOC.
The decision had been made! In the first race I won against Thomas
Steinthal from Denmark, who had won a diploma at the EYMTBOC the year
before. That was an enormous motivation for me! I focused on mountain
biking, and six weeks later there was Portugal 2016 …
What do you see in this discipline
that makes it so special?
T. M. - You know, every time I
read this question in one of your interviews I think the answers are
so trivial – but when I have to think about it myself, I have no
better idea. It's really the most versatile and most fascinating
sport I know. In another interview I once read, “Every sport has
its own fascination in itself, without that there would be no sport
in our culture”, and that's so true! MTBO is my sport and I am 100%
into it!
How hard can MTBO be?
T. M. - If there were just MTBO,
it would be completely different. But add to that the daily school
routine and my other hobbies I can't give up (even though I should
drop some of them), and life becomes really exhausting. Luckily, I
have some freedom at my school so I'm able focus on the sport;
without that, I wouldn’t go on with my stuff the way I'm doing it
right now. When there’s no other possibility, I have to train at 10
pm, after that I get 6 hours sleep and then it's back to a full
school day – but luckily that's not the rule.
Do you have an athlete that you see
as model, an inspiration?
T. M. - Of course, there are
various role models and motivations, everybody has them somehow. For
me it’s especially traveling around the world, the trips with the
team. You have the chance to reach areas where a “normal” person
wouldn't spend their holidays, you are able to meet so many great
people around the world – and that is very, very precious to me. As
inspirations I want to single out Thomas Hnilica, Kevin Haselsberger
and, of course, my family and lots of others … And then there is
Jana Hnilica. She’s one of the big upcoming stars of Austrian MTBO
and she has found a way of organising her life like nobody else I
know. The way she's able to get to grips with a very exhausting
school, sport, hobbies and so on is truly incredible!
Looking at the special moments
you’ve been through in MTB orienteering until now, could you
mention the most thrilling one?
T. M. - One of the most thrilling moments was definitely the
relay race at the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 in
Liberec! I had only just started MTBO and was able to be there at
that important moment. There was this incredible feeling when Andreas
Waldmann started in third position. We couldn't see the GPS track all
the time but we had the live results and at the first live coverage
it was like, “He’s only a few seconds behind the leading duo.”
And at the second live coverage, “He’s in the lead, Waldi is in
the lead!”. After the spectator control he
realised his position and finished his race with a comfortable lead –
I still have goose bumps when I remember that day.
Going back to July 25th, 2016, in
Portugal, what did you feel by achieving the bronze medal in the
Sprint race of the European Youth MTB Orienteering Championships?
T. M. - I was just happy! In the
beginning it took some time to realise what had just happened.
What makes this result so special for
me is that my dedicated training on the bike had only started six
weeks earlier, before that I had just taken part in a few
competitions, but mainly I had been running. Yes,
of course I have
some advantages in the navigational part because of my experience
with mapping and orienteering, but the sprint distance wasn’t even
technical, it was just biking as fast as you can. The only mistake I
made was trying to drink a little from my bottle – that lost me a
few seconds! But now I'm looking forward to the upcoming season even
more, now my full focus is fully on the bike …
Can you remember other good moments
in Portugal? And a bad one?
T. M. - I mostly remember all
these good moments and stories, and it was a fantastic trip with the
team again, but obviously there also were some bad moments, too,
especially after the accident in the Middle Distance. The race
started very well, I felt the flow and was just in the race – maybe
a little bit too much – when, after the 5th control, my handlebar
got caught by a tree and I had a bad crash. I managed to get back on
track and reach the finish arena, but my leg hurt very much.
Luckily the next day was a rest day
and, with the help of our Physio/Trainer Gaby, I could fully
concentrate on recovering! Movement helped a lot. My time at the Long
Distance wasn't the one I had been looking for, but under the
circumstances it wasn't too bad and an 8th place actually isn't that
bad – really.
What does it mean to be a MTB
orienteer in Austria?
T. M. - I can answer that
question with a simple return question: What does it mean to be a
(fringe sport) athlete in Austria? – Almost nothing, unfortunately.
70% of sport subsidies go to Football, Alpine skiing and Tennis. Next
are all Olympic disciplines and only then, much further down the
line, there are all other kinds of sports. Yes, we fight for every
Cent, but I think that is necessary. When you have all the money (and
therefore facilities) you need, it's easy to be at the top. We get
almost nothing and still we can compete with the best of our sport.
And it is something very special to fight for your passion with a
great team!
I can see you really committed to
promoting the Austrian MTBO Days 2017, this July? Would you like to
tell me something about it?
T. M. - I will! Spoiler alert:
Austrian MTBO days are going to be one of the greatest events of the
upcoming season and you all should be part of it (laughs). –
Seriously: The idea grew after our MTBO event in Bad Vöslau in 2015.
The event was well received by the community and the host city. The
upcoming event has grown bigger and bigger over the last months, now
it is going to be really big! Obviously our main goal is to make the
trip to Austria a memorable one for all of you. Free entry to a
famous public spa, top culinary local catering, a high quality
evening program and, most importantly, thrilling courses and a very
technical forest are waiting for you. We also want to use the event
to make our sport more popular in Austria. For this, we have
co-operations with some big media names in Austria, and we are very
grateful that Portuguese Orienteering Blog is also part of the show –
thanks for the co-operation!
Can it be compared to MTBO 5 Days
Plzeň? What are your expectations?
T. M. - Well, that's a tough
question! It's something completely different. Plzen has for many,
many years been one of the most popular MTBO events, and personally I
am very disappointed that I can't be part of it this year. But we are
in contact with the organizers in Plzen to create a perfect summer
program, especially for all of you from abroad! From Plzen directly
to Bad Vöslau, then to Orleans (France) and from there to Lithuania
– Doesn't that sound promising? I think this dense program might be
an extra motivation for a few athletes from far away to take the long
trip to Europe after all. The date isn't just a
coincidence either: For the world elite it's the best time to prepare
for the European Championships two weeks earlier. And there are also
a few more arguments for coming to Austria, like WRE, WMS, cup events
of different countries …
Just before the Austrian MTBO days,
we'll have in Waldviertel, in the beginning of June, the kick off of
the World Cup 2017. Do you plan to join the event?
T. M. - Yes, of course! We have
many good senior riders, so I won't be able to qualify for the World
Cup, but we have Austrian Cup races there, too. And it is the same
area where the World Championships 2018 are going to be held. My
first year as a junior in my home country.
What are your main goals for the
season?
T. M. - My main goal is
definitely the EYMTBOC in France. Unfortunately it's not possible for
me to compete in Lithuania, that's very disappointing, but hopefully
in the next decades I'll get other chances to compete in these very
technical areas – they look enormous.
For those who don't know about MTBO,
but are able to try something new, what do you have to say?
T. M. - I don't think that I
have to explain how orienteering or MTBO works to the readers of this
blog, but I think I can try to clear up a misunderstanding: The
cliché is that MTBO is easy, because you don't have to orientate as
you're just going on trails or roads, and yes, that's true (in most
countries). The big difference is the much higher speed on the bike,
compared to running. To read and capture the map while biking, and
not crashing into a tree at the same time, is more difficult than
most people think (Yep, that happened to me, too!) and when you
haven't read the map carefully, you can end up two valleys off, even
small mistakes cost much more time than in Foot orienteering. You
also have to rely on gathering loads of information in your mind in a
very short time. For untrained bikers, map reading while riding is
only just possible on streets, and if you have to stop to read, the
race will be over before you find your way.
Is there anything that you'd like to
add?
T. M. - I want to thank all my
past, present and future companions again for their contribution. I
will give my best to fulfill all expectations, especially my own, and
I'm looking forward to many, many more years with MTBO. You won't get
rid of me that easily!
Joaquim Margarido
No comments:
Post a Comment