One jumped further than all the others. Higher too. And with more style. Janez Grasic, downhiller of the second mountain bike generation. Like his friends Urs Thoma and Claudio Caluori, he didn't make it to the top of the world. But he won hearts on the race course. He would have won every race if there had been style marks for the finish jump. For Janez, the mountain bike was not a piece of sports equipment but a toy. When he pulled up his helmet, there was always his mischievous, mischievous laugh. Especially pronounced after a lot of airtime. Janez was known as a cheerful person. That was the case twenty years ago and remains so to this day. He still had that infectious laugh today. Not necessarily just because of the big jumps, the good experience on the mountain bike was enough to infect the world with his positivism. It is this mischievous laugh that will stay in our hearts forever.

Janez was one of the mountain bike family. One of the hard core. One who wanted to give something back to the sport. He was a pioneer in trail building, and many well-known routes in Tuscany in particular bear his signature. He didn't shovel for himself, but for everyone else. So that they could experience the same joy as he did. That was Janez, selflessness personified. This quality sometimes got in his way, but it made him what he was: one of the good guys. The sport of mountain biking has lost a formative personality in Janez.

On Monday, Janez set off on his last jump. It is the biggest he has ever taken. A jump for which he could hardly prepare. An involuntary jump against all expectations. It is the jump without landing with airtime into eternity. Janez, you did us all good. You made our little world a little better, happier and more empathetic. That is worth a lot and should not be taken for granted. Thank you! Fly Janez, fly!