Ride: When one door closes, another one opens: Looking back, is the "Spar Team" case, where you would have been under contract for several years, a stroke of luck?

Fabio Püntener: I no longer mourn that team, which never materialized. I guess it was bound to happen that I ended up at Scott-Sram. And of course it was a pretty stupid situation at the beginning. I was left without a team, but my old team, Bike Team Solothurn, helped me out.

A look back: What did this bad news at the beginning of the year do to you?

You ride for a team that works great, but then you get an opportunity to develop athletically. And then it's suddenly pulled out from under your feet. It was like a curse. I was already thinking about what I would do this year. In 2024, I thought: if I find a professional team, I'll continue, otherwise I'll try to switch to road cycling. Then I got the commitment from this team, but in January this castle in the air fell apart and I was back at the same point as before.

And there was no longer a road team around this time either.

No, it was too late for that. But I knew that I had good training values, which is why it was easy for me to keep going and hope that I would achieve my goal this year - as I have now done.

Yet, would you have expected that?

No, not to this extent. I rode into the top 15 in 2024, and that was from a bad starting position. This year, I had better performance figures, so I knew that more was possible. But I didn't expect to ride consistently in the top 10 and achieve a few podiums.

You weren't the most conspicuous rider in the U23s, where the course is often set for the elite. How did you still never lose sight of your goal?

I was actually more of a second-tier rider back then. Although I was already pretty consistent, finishing tenth overall in the U23 World Cup in my last U23 year, I always lacked the necessary percentage to get to the front. I then joined the national team rather late, where I met the current national coach Beat Müller. He also does the performance tests with us, among other things. Müller believed in me early on - more than I did myself. And even in my first elite years, which didn't go so well, he always knew that I had the potential and he kept telling me that. And he was right! Thanks to him, I always worked well, even when things weren't going so well.

One person who always believed in you was Reto Burki, your old team boss. How valuable was it that you were able to return to him at the start of the year?

On the one hand, he saved my season this year, but the U23 years were also very important. There are few teams like Bike Team Solothurn. The transition categories are extremely tough. Either you're in the pro team or you have nothing. Reto therefore developed the junior team more and more in the direction of the elite team. And so he was able to promote me further. The fact that he brought me back in January, even though I said last year that I wanted to do something new, is worth a lot.

And now you're leaving him again. How did he react?

Of course, he wasn't happy at first. But in the end it was also obvious, because Bike Team Solothurn's resources are limited. I rode without a salary this year and I can't do that for another year. Reto is looking for sponsors, but I also had to make a decision at some point. I couldn't wait for something that might never happen. I'm sure he understood my decision.

In terms of results, you were the better BMC team than the BMC Factory team. Did BMC never express any interest in you?

However, BMC wanted me to switch. That was after my first podium in Leogang, when they asked if I would ride for them in Val di Sole. But it was relatively short notice and didn't make sense for me to change practically all my equipment in such a short space of time. They accepted, and by the time Luke Wiedmann switched to them, everything was already signed and sealed with Scott-Sram.

How many other offers did you have?

I had contact with many big teams. Suddenly I was in a situation where I didn't have to write to any teams. I was able to wait and the requests came of their own accord. That was really cool. But often I could only reply that I already had a team. It's good to be courted. In previous years, it was the other way around. I had to ask everywhere. I quickly felt comfortable at Scott-Sram and am convinced that I chose the best option by far.

Were it mostly foreign teams that expressed interest?

Almost all of them. But for me, the decision to stay with a Swiss team was an obvious one. On the one hand, the mentality is easier, I already know everyone and they are really good people. Not just professionally, but also as people. It's like a family.

The early change, before the end of the season - will it help you to start next year's season in better shape?

When you change teams for the new year, you wait and hope you can start again with the form you had before. But now I know that I have the form and am doing well. Of course, a few details still need to be adjusted with the equipment. But basically, I can go into the winter much more relaxed than if the change had to wait until the new year.

Speaking of good form: You've been consistently very strong this season. Can you keep that up until the end of this season?

That would be the goal, to maintain the consistency with the switch. I hope to get close to the podium again. My form is still very good. I built up steadily during the season, had a good summer break and then got back into it well. If everything comes together again, nothing speaks against another podium finish.

Did you make friends with the new bike early on or postpone the change of material until after Lenzerheide?

I was already able to pick up the Spark after the European Championships and then rode more on the Scott than on the BMC in the meantime. However, I had to weigh up when to switch back to the BMC in order to master the technique in the races. The two bikes are very different and different to ride. It was definitely a balancing act, and that's why I concentrated on the BMC for the World Championships and the World Cup in Lenzerheide. But now it's time for a more intensive phase to work out the final details on the Scott. But I already feel super comfortable on the Spark - I can only see positive things, especially on the downhill.

What are your goals for next year and the years to come?

Maintain consistency. I don't want to be a rider who is good one day and then finishes 50th again. I managed that quite well this year. Next year, I want to try to be a bit more consistent at the front in the World Cup and ride onto the podium from time to time. And of course I'd also like to win at some point. But I'll take it step by step. I've made a huge leap this year and if I can build on this year, I'll be happy. I don't feel like I have to win every World Cup straight away.

And the competition isn't sleeping either.

No, and there will certainly be young riders coming up again, it's getting closer and closer.

How do you perceive the public interest in you now that you've ridden yourself into the spotlight virtually overnight?

It was quite a change. Last year, I traveled to the races and nobody knew me. It didn't matter which place I rode in, I was hardly mentioned in the media anyway. Now I'm on the race track and I'm seen. But I've managed the changeover well so far and I've been able to settle into it.

I'm sure it was good training to deal with the pressure, because it's likely to increase with the new team.

Yes, for sure. I had nothing to lose this year. That was my advantage. But the expectations from myself and from outside will certainly be greater in the future. This year I also had pressure, but a different kind - namely that I can continue my career. Next year, the pressure will be on me to confirm my performance. But I'm convinced that I can do it.

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