The premature retirement

He showed several times last season that Vogel can still ride at the front, particularly with his fifth place at the World Cup opener in Albstadt and by winning the silver medal at the European Championships in the Czech Republic. Apart from his chances of securing the last Olympic starting place, Vogel would have been perfectly capable of shining in the 2020 season in the World Cup or especially at the World Championships in Albstadt. But it won't come to that - despite a two-year contract, the 37-year-old is surprisingly retiring as a racer at the end of the 2019 season.

But why has the cross-country veteran opted out of his current contract with the Orbea World Cup team after this successful season and existing opportunities in the 2020 season? "The Olympics were never a reason for me to continue racing. It was more the relationship with the team, which developed differently than I had hoped. I didn't really fit in well there. Their management style is very authoritarian," Vogel explains the main reasons.However, he puts the fact that he gave up his passion early into perspective with gratitude: "I achieved more in my career than I could ever have dreamed of and was able to count on the support of the best teams for a long time. Whether I ride one year more or less now no longer matters to me.

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The fact that Florian Vogel's working life will not be conventional after his career was already apparent when he founded the coaching company Velocoach. This activity already provides him with a part-time workload. "I'm now looking after 15 athletes and at the same time I'm completing the professional coaching course, which will take another year or so. That already accounts for a good 50 percent."

The other 50 per cent is spent working as Performance Manager for the Specialized Racing Team. Vogel was personally recommended for this newly created position by Christoph Sauser, who decided to set up his own business a year ago and now roasts specialty coffee in Leysin.
As the link between the riders and team management, Vogel is responsible for race planning and material tests, among other things, and supports the athletes in other matters. He will therefore remain involved in the Cross-Country World Cup, albeit outside of the flutterband.

Retirement in installments

I couldn't quite do without the thrill of the competitions after all. With the start of winter, Florian Vogel pinned his race number to his race kit a few times. He loves ski touring races and has already brought home the winner's trophy twice. "I had to realize that I'm very bad at stopping," admits Vogel. And that's not all: he will be competing in the ABSA Cape Epic for Team Songo.info - as a backup team for Specialized's first guild.

About his team partner, he reveals only this much: it's a very strong rider. His employer has instructed him not to divulge this information. However, this very strong rider is said to be cyclo-cross shooting star Tom Pidcock (silver medal winner at the World Championships in Dübendorf), who, according to cyclingnews.com, revealed his Cape Epic participation with Vogel.
Florian Vogel is more specific about his fitness: "I'm in great shape and my performance values are practically the same as they were a year ago. Whether we are actually the backup team at the Cape Epic or suddenly riding at the front, we'll see then.
Vogel's career end can actually be described as a retirement in installments. Because for the "Mission Cape Epic" he had to buy another license. He is also taking his preparation seriously and is traveling to Cyprus where he is competing in the internationally renowned Sunshine Cup as preparation. Vogel reveals that he will take advantage of the fact that he also has a racing license this year to ride a few marathon races such as the Grand Raid and emphasizes: "I will do without cross-country races, however."