Lukas Kaufmann was long regarded as one of Switzerland's up-and-coming hopes in cross-country sport. At the end of 2011, he took part in the "Brasil Ride", a mountain bike stage race in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, for the second time. He and his two travel partners spontaneously decided to travel to Rio de Janeiro for a few more days. One evening when the three of them went out, Kaufmann met a woman with whom he immediately fell in love - even though he didn't speak a word of Portuguese and she didn't speak any English. The journey home was approaching and it was painful to say goodbye. Back in Switzerland, he kept in touch with the woman. He then decided to travel to Brazil again to get to know this woman and the country better. After a two-week intensive course in Portuguese, Brazil's national language, Kaufmann traveled to São João del Rey, a historic city around 300 kilometers north of Rio, shortly before Christmas 2011.

During the "Brasil Ride", Kaufmann was already able to experience that life in Brazil is quite different from life in Switzerland. Now he is actually there and experiences the differences on a daily basis. He likes the open, friendly and helpful nature of the people, as well as the country and the culture. The only thing he has to struggle with at the beginning is the language, as Portuguese is not exactly easy. He is also struck by the fact that the gap between rich and poor is also much wider than in Europe. "I think very few Swiss people would be able to cope with the conditions here," says Kaufmann. He also points to the major cultural differences and continues: "Going on vacation is always different to living in a foreign country. We Swiss are already very spoiled when you compare the living conditions." The tougher conditions don't seem to bother Kaufmann, on the contrary. He even likes the fact that not everything is so perfect.

Through his Brazilian girlfriend, Kaufmann quickly gets to know a lot of people and meets some bikers by chance. He also has his mountain bike with him to prepare for the 2012 season in Europe. His return flight leaves at the beginning of March 2012 and his new bike colleagues show him lots of cool trails and ride him around. Lukas Kaufmann gets on particularly well with one of these mountain bikers. He takes him on a weekend trip to Belo Horizonte, the third largest city in Brazil. Kaufmann is very excited to see what awaits him, as he has never traveled extensively in Brazil before and his relationship has not developed as he would have liked. Once he arrives in Belo Horizonte, he quickly realizes that mountain biking is really blossoming there. But more for well-heeled people. "Believe it or not, there are taxes of up to 40 percent on bikes in Brazil. For example, a Specialized "Epic S-Works", which is a very popular bike in Brazil, costs the equivalent of 15,000 Swiss francs.

Lukas Kaufmann gets to know other nice people and a real mountain biker group who, like him, live for mountain biking. He likes the cosmopolitan city dwellers and the hilly landscape around Belo Horizonte so much that he stays with his colleague there and immediately plans his next stay in Brazil.

Just in time for the racing season, Kaufmann is back in Switzerland. When the European World Cup races were over at the end of May 2012, he traveled to Brazil again to help his friend at the bike school. He postponed his return trip to Switzerland for a month, until mid-August. Now he no longer calls it a return trip, but a family visit. It is clear to him that it is time for something new and that his life will take place in Brazil in future.

As chance would have it, Kaufmann, a continent commuter, met a lovely woman shortly before his departure for Switzerland. "She fascinated me and so I promised to meet her again as soon as I returned from Switzerland. And that's what happened. We got to know each other and fell in love. I've been living with her and her mother since the end of 2012." At the same time, the opportunity arose for him to ride for a professional mountain bike team in the 2013 season. "The Focus/OCE-Racing team has all its logistics in Belo Horizonte. I get great bikes and even a small salary. Mountain biking is growing rapidly in Brazil and the level of the riders is very high. Nevertheless, the atmosphere at the races is relaxed and not so tough, which suits me better," explains the 26-year-old.

When you talk about top-class sport and Brazil, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro automatically come to mind. He makes no secret of the fact that Rio 2016 is a thought. However, the Games are definitely not the most important thing for him. Also no longer important to him is traveling from race to race in the world and chasing UCI points. Since his junior years, he has always given 100 percent, which at some point became too much for him, especially as he has narrowly failed to meet the selection criteria for the World Championships several times.

At Christmas 2012, Kaufmann got engaged to his girlfriend Ana Flávia de Oliveira. He was serious about their relationship, so he decided to stay in Brazil and plan their future together there. "We haven't got married yet, but that step will probably follow in the fall. Since I'm doing so well and my love life is going great, I'm also doing very well in sport. I'm always among the front runners at the international races in Brazil," says the Brazilian-by-choice happily.
His parents' enthusiasm was limited when he told them he would be traveling to Brazil to visit a girl: "In the end, however, my mother and father supported me in my plans," says Kaufmann. Since he has been living in Brazil, his whole family has visited him to find out how their son is living in his new home. His brother Daniel even stayed with him throughout the winter.

When asked if he sometimes misses his old home, Lukas Kaufmann clearly admits: "Of course I sometimes miss my family for a long time, but my life is taking its course here and I'm happy here. That's the most important thing for me." In 2014, Kaufmann is planning a family visit to Switzerland. It is quite possible that the Swiss cross-country racing scene will be able to welcome its "prodigal son" back to the starting line, at least for a few races.