Mountain bikers in Austria and Germany are nervous, they are at a crossroads. The sport has grown, the pressure to use the trails is increasing and some authorities are calling for bans and restrictions. In many places, pragmatic mountain bikers are coming together to bring their needs to the round table and negotiate tangible solutions. Exemplary!

And then there are people who defy Austria's restrictive laws, for example. Like Martin Depauli and Vicoria Rieser, who illegally climbed the Großvenediger on their bikes and 'brazenly' even reported about it. Then the waters run high. Such actions were a disservice to mountain biking and a reason for further bike bans, they criticized.

Learning from politics

Those who put such mountain bike rebels in their place should take a look at politics. It is common for certain topics to only be taken seriously through targeted provocation. Even international diplomacy makes use of this tool: without agitators in the background, high-level negotiators are virtually toothless. They can only build up the necessary pressure at the negotiating table through external provocation. The rebels are an important negotiating element for them. And what do we mountain bikers do? We'd rather put the rebels on the spot than use them for our cause.

Helvetic power play as a model for success

Those who dismiss the mountain bike rebels as morons have also failed to understand Switzerland's current position. After all, Switzerland is something of a poster boy when it comes to mountain biking. Here, mountain biking is legal (almost) everywhere - and not by chance. It has succeeded because there has been an (unconscious) interplay between rebels and pragmatists. A handful of rebels stood up for their vision of mountain biking and fearlessly forged ahead. They paved the way for the pragmatists at the round table to work out solid solutions. One of the reasons Switzerland has come so far in mountain biking is because the two "parties" accepted each other rather than fighting. Both sides were aware of the importance of the other and were therefore able to put on a power play.

Where are the rebels?

As mentioned, the mountain bikers in Germany and Austria are at a crossroads and could now put on the Swiss power play. A combination of rebels and pragmatists. But the rebels are missing in Germany and Austria. Everyone is pushing for the negotiating table without flank protection. And if a rebel does turn up, they are given a good dressing down.

Unfounded conditions such as those in Baden-Württemberg or throughout Austria call for targeted provocations. In other words: The sport of mountain biking needs more rebels to move forward. More rebels who don't see the pragmatists as characterless armchair farting. And more pragmatists who don't label the rebels as egocentric nest-busters. It would be Switzerland's model for success.

More blog posts by Thomas Giger

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