The Austrian downhill flagship Markus Pekoll ends his career. The upcoming event at Val di Sole will be his last World Cup and the downhill World Championships at Cairns, Australia, will be the international grande finale to his impressive career.
photo: Nathan Huges
One decade of World Cup racing
2017 is the tenth full season the “boy from Schladming” is competing at the highest level of the sport. He grew up close to the legendary downhill track and picked up mountain biking when he was at the age of 17. A full 15 years racing is enough: “It just feels right for me. I always wanted to end my career on a high note. My team is the best in the world, my material is top notch, I’m the current national champion and in the best shape of my life. I feel that I am at my personal maximum. It’s a good moment to call it a day.” Becoming a father in Winter made his decision easier, for sure.
photo: Nathan Huges
Best german-speaking downhill racer
Markus Pekoll’s career is – together with Marcus Klausmanns’ – the most impressive in the German-speaking part of the world. His consistency is unmatched. Since his first World Cup in 2004 at Schladming, he took part in 72 of them, missing just two rounds and having a DNF in another two. From 2011 on he competed for MS Racing – one of the best teams in the world: “It became like a family for me.”
photo: Simon Kugi
He cracked the top 10 five times (his best world cup ranking are two 8th place finishes) and never placed worse than 19th at World Champs from 2011 through 2016. Markus is a six time national champion, one time European champion, took victory in the overall standings of the European cup and was best placed German-speaking rider in the UCI ranking from 2011 through 2015.
photo: Nathan Huges
Future
What the future holds for the MS Mondraker rider is uncertain. “I will take my time to look at all the options, but I’m pretty anxious to see what’s now coming at me.” Val di Sole this upcoming weekend will be his last World Cup and he will fly the Austrian flag once more at the World Championships in Cairns, Australia. In the middle of September Markus is racing the iXS European Downhill Cup at Leogang as his last Downhill event. We can see him in race action once more at the Austrian enduro championships a week after. This will not be the start to a second career though, as he makes clear: “It will be just for fun!”
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Markus website: markuspekoll.com
Video by Christian Czadilek
Photos: Nathan Hughes, Simon Kugi