Ursula Schwaller is an exceptional athlete in cycling, rowing, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and kayaking. She is a bundle of energy that never lets herself get down. The joy of sports, iron discipline and calculated perseverance – this is the recipe for her sporting, professional and private successes. Find out more about the multiple cycling world champion and architect from Heitiwil in this interview.
Ursula, this year we welcome you and your friend and coach Marcel back to the island. Is it training or is it more like a holiday that you spend on Mallorca?
Ursula Schwaller (U): A good question. I think it is active holiday. (Laughs). The reason why we are here and not in Switzerland: we are currently doing long training sessions, about 5-6 hours, more than 100 kilometers per day. For this it is still too cold in Switzerland at the moment, which is especially unpleasant in the morning. For this basic training, which we do every spring, Mallorca is ideal. So it's more like training than holiday.
Marcel Kaderli (M): Thanks to the perfect conditions it is much easier to train here. If we want to do a flat 120 km training here, we can just do it from the hotel and don't have to go to Lake Biel first. Even an 80 km training with 1000 meters of altitude is no problem. On Mallorca all the profiles we need for training are possible. In addition, as Ursula has already mentioned, you can ride in the morning and at noon with same garement. You don't need to take any luggage and you can ride at competition speed. Early to mid March is the perfect time here.
You've been training in Mallorca for many years. How many times have you been here and how did you become our regulars?
U: We just calculated it yesterday, it's been over 17 years! It all started with the national coach at the time, the hand cyclist Stefan Wilda. The tip of the cyclist: "In the spring you have to "eat kilometers" on Mallorca.
He was at Huerzeler and enthusiastic about the whole infrastructure. You can store the bike, there are mechanics and you get food. In case of a breakdown you can call someone and they will help you. It's really ideal for training. Over the years, you also get to know each other and build up a social environment, for example with hotel employees or the Huerzeler team – it's like a family to which you belong.
Right. If the duo Schwaller/Kaderli is missing, something is wrong, like last year.
U: Yes, we missed it too. (laughs)
Do you have your favorite route on Mallorca?
U: Once around. (laughs) What I really like is the route to Cap Formentor. We have been there three days ago with very few people on the road. The tame goats on the side of the road, the many breathtaking views of the sea, the rocks and beaches. We don't have that in Switzerland and that makes it a kind of favorite route for me.
M: Yes, the route to Cap Formentor is always interesting. Also to make visible the comparison of the huge development in wheelchair sports. In the beginnings, ten years ago, we were just doing interval training on the first third of the first climb. Maybe three sessions. Today, on a beautiful sunny day, we leisurely ride up to the lighthouse and back – doing about eight times the total elevation gain – on a day off. A tremendous progression! If you then ride with this view and think back what has been done – that is just fantastic and that is why I love to go to Cap Formentor. In addition, the road has been renovated and lighting has been installed in the tunnel, which has greatly improved the safety of the route.
Ursula, you asked me if the island has shrunk. I guarantee that is not the case.
Rather, your radius has increased.
U: That's right, the radius has become larger. If I compare, as Marcel did earlier, the development of the last 15, 16 years, it is already enormous and also connected with additional freedom. We can say: "Now we'll quickly go to Randa", or: "Now we'll do the Puig Major", or: "We'll do this loop in addition", it's great because you can experience and enjoy even more. And you suffer less. (laughs)
About your sports career. What does sport give you? How did you "find" your sport?
There was a little conflict with it.
U: When I went to school and studied, I didn't have a car and I used to go to school by bike. Then I met Marcel, who had a recumbent bike. Then I also bought one and we went on tours together – with a tent and a gasoline stove. Cycling was always part of my life. After my accident, my second or third question was whether I could cycle again – and then Marcel came with a photo of a handbike. I was still in intensive care at the time and the doctors thought: "They're crazy! They dream about handcycling, but they have completely different problems". But it was exactly what I needed at that time. To have a perspective. We are cyclists. This pace, at which you can make good progress, easily ride 80 to 90 kilometers a day and enjoy the scenery, is a passion inside me.
Also, the sport does me a lot of good personally and physically. It shakes everything up a bit, my legs get stretched and the activity keeps me fit and I have less pain. It's just good for me – in fact, I'm doomed to it to some extent.
So Marcel has helped you with perspectives on rehabilitation?
U: Yes, he has.
M: We were on the road together a lot before the accident. But differently than today. We did tours in Scotland and Ireland – totally independent. Then the accident happened and everything was gone. We thought what we have done was no longer possible. Because we were already experienced with the recumbent bike, the handbike was relatively obvious. Our idea was actually to be able to go on tour together again. Ursula became faster and faster on the handbike and we started to compete. Today we don't do any more tours, but we do more long-distance races. For example Trondheim – Oslo, Gran Fondo things or other, longer people races, which combine competition with the component of simple touring, where the scenery and the enjoyment, is in the foreground. You don't really have this radius as a wheelchair rider.
What drives you? Where do you get the motivation and energy to achieve these results?
U: The energy comes from the fact that I feel how good cycling does me. On the one hand physically, on the other hand mentally, to clear my head and as a good balance to my job. For me, the motivation is to be able to ride long-distance races with the strength of my arms. That I can ride the same distances with my arms as another cyclist who says to himself, I'll ride Trondheim - Oslo or the Mallorca 312. Sure, he may be faster on the uphill, but downhill I am. At the end of the day, we've both done the same kilometers, seen the same things, experienced the same things, and we're talking about the same things. That's motivation in itself.
You are successful on the handbike and also in rowing. Does that have anything to do with the strength in your arms or is it the same passion as on the bike?
U: (Laughs).
M: Do you want me to say something about that? Because that's my fault. (Laughs) It happens to many top athletes after the end of their career that they get into a slump if they are not careful. Professional or athletic reorientation can counteract this. After Ursula's career ended in 2012, the question was how we could prevent this. My suggestion was rowing. Before that, we were already on the water with the kayak and noticed that it helps to build up the trunk muscles. Better trunk muscles mean more stability in everyday life on the one hand, and on the other hand, more strength when handcycling.
By the way, we could observe the same effect when Ursula had an accident two years ago, which led to spasms in the trunk. Interestingly, these spasms also strengthened the trunk muscles, with great effect on athletic performance. We have never been so fast as this year, breaking all records, especially uphill. We can beat any time by 5% to even 10%! And this is only due to the strengthened torso muscles. Also towards the age, we are getting weaker, over 50 and so, you know what I mean, then the diminishing physical strength must be compensated with dexterity. And this we achieve with the strengthening in the trunk area.
You can't talk about getting older when you ask if the island got smaller.
Others rather have the feeling that it is getting bigger.
U: (Laughs again).
M: For us it has definitely become smaller. We used to have to really plan for the Puig Major and today we say, "Tomorrow is beautiful, let's go the Puig". That's a huge difference.
U: Or when we're at Lluc Monastery and we say, "Now we're going to go up quickly".
M: Exactly. That's just freedom. Normally wheelchair users can't do that.
In any case, it takes an improbable will that one can get to this point at all and, in your case, also two people who are attuned to each other and ready to implement this will.
U: Yes.
M: I don't know either. Cycling is maybe a little bit special compared to other sports. Let's say high jump, where you're in an arena and you have to perform at your best and motivate yourself to compete. In cycling, you have the motivation by itself on any sunny day. Being out in nature and being able to say, "It's fantastic here" is enough for us. And this despite handicaps and problems, including the current Corona crisis. Up at the lakes (note: meaning the reservoirs in the Tramuntana mountains) or at Cap Formentor it is just as beautiful as last year or the year before.
There is also a good portion of positive thinking. Where others only see problems, you see opportunities, possibilities and ultimately beauty.
U: Yes.
M: Of course. But ultimately the beauty is real, it's not gone. It's just as beautiful as it was before.
Ursula, what has been the most significant success for you in your career?
U: It's hard to say. Every success has something to it. There are a few key experiences. For example, the World Championships in Canada (2010). When I crossed the finish line in the road race and won my fourth world championship title, Marcel was waiting at the finish line and took me in his arms on his bike and spun me through the air. We worked on that moment together. Or when we started with the long distances. For example, the race in southern Sweden around the lake (note: Vätternrundan). You ride through the night and at two o'clock in the morning the sun comes up, which you ride towards. That was also such a key experience. Or of course Trondheim - Oslo. When you cross the finish line after 550 km with other cyclists. I can't even say what was the most beautiful success, each one had its own characteristics.
Do you remember the very first victory on the handbike after your accident?
U: Not the first victory. But the first race. My arms almost fell off. (Laughs) That was a deal with a handbike colleague, he made the competition palatable to me. When I came out of rehab he said, "Listen, I'll lend you a bike, in return you'll come to the Brugger evening race." Two weeks after rehab and still completely green behind the ears, we went to the race. I then curved around there at about 20 km/h – and was very happy about it. I can remember very well. (Laughs)
How active are you at the moment? What are your goals? Are there any upcoming competitions?
U: It's difficult with the competitions at the moment, because you don't know exactly which one is going to take place and which one is not. For the last two years we have wanted to race in southern Norway. Two years ago it didn't work out because of my accident, last year because of Corona. This year we hope to do the Color Line Tour. With 210 km a rather short race. The special thing about it is that two years ago the organizer of the Trondheim - Oslo race called us because a Norwegian cyclist had fallen in a race and became a paraplegic. He then thought of the handcyclist Ursula and thought that the injured woman named Laila could do the same - only she needed a handbike and asked us for help. So we went to Norway and brought her an old world champion bike of mine. Half a year later she was on the road again with her bike club. She can't ride 210 km yet, of course, but the idea is that she can ride with the support vehicle at the race and learn how to race handbikes. That is our goal for the race.
Technology in racing bikes has advanced a lot. Bikes have become lighter, disc brakes and electronic gears are being used, etc. How has the handbike developed?
U: You'll have to ask the mechanic. (Laughs)
M: With the handbike we still work with old wheel dimensions, 26 inches. Unfortunately, recently even only 20-inch wheels are used in the back, so they are very small. They are not on the same level as the wider, more aerodynamic 28-inch wheels. That's why we have also said goodbye to top-level sport, because we can't do long-distance sport with these machines. Currently we are developing a new handbike with carbon parts from Minardi, 28-inch wheels, disc brakes and 12mm axles, like the traditional racing bikes. However, this bike will not be approved for handicapped sports. It is specifically for what we want, the long distance.
So the technology is driven by you and is less of a staple?
M: No. There's actually no such thing as off-the-shelf. There are roughly three major competition bike specialists in the world, from the U.S., Germany and Italy. We work together with them. We make a concept and the specialists build the bike according to it. The frames or the shells are also used in similar construction for other athletes. But we plan the forks, seats, configurations, such as the axles and brakes, ourselves.
So in a way you are pioneers in the field of handbike technology?
M: Yes. We have been from the beginning. And now, with the decision of the UCI to use 20 inch wheels, we are reinforcing the development and we see ourselves almost like 15 years ago when we started.
U: The good, lightweight material from non-disabled sports is also extremely important for us. Every gram counts.
M: We are also looking not only at road sports, but increasingly at mountain biking. Last year, shortly after the outbreak of the Corona crisis and the cancelled training camp on Mallorca, we got our first mountain bike. During the summer we built up our mountain bike know-how so that we can bring mountain biking forward in Switzerland. Maybe in a couple of years we will also manage to get Huerzeler to offer hand mountain bikes? (Laughs)
We are not closed to this discussion. Ursula, you are an architect by profession.
How active are you in this field at the moment?
U: Together with three colleagues, I took over an architecture firm a year ago and thus became self-employed. I specialize in energy-efficient, ecological construction. I build you a house that requires little energy for heating and hot water. The energy for this is produced by the house itself - by means of solar energy. For the construction I use natural materials such as wood, which do not contain toxins such as formaldehyde.
Could you heat and light such a house with your training watts alone?
U: I would have to be able to train for a few hours and feed those watts in, then it would certainly last a while. (Laughs) I heat my living room with about 300 watts when it's very cold. If all the residents pedaled along, it might be enough.
Wikipedia says you are also a building biologist. What does that mean in concrete terms?
U: A building biologist puts people at the center of architecture. We use natural building materials to create a pleasant living environment. When it rains, you need a rain jacket, preferably with breathable material, otherwise you start to sweat. It's the same with building. For example, if we use exterior walls made of wood, the house can breathe and doesn't need a plastic vapor barrier. This is an important aspect of building biology.
You are an exceptional athlete and an idol. The incredible amount of discipline, perseverance and motivation inspires not only people with disabilities, but everyone. Is there a motto that Ursula Schwaller lives by?
U: That's a difficult question. The important thing is to see opportunities when they come and take advantage of them. That you break down things that seem impossible into intermediate steps and at least give them a try. Precious are the opportunities and time is a sharp sword.
You are absolutely admirable. So is your partner and coach Marcel. Which of you is the engine to train every day? Is there sometimes discord, or are you always in unison on training issues?
M: Look, you ask me a question that you can answer yourself. When I see the development of the bikes and I want to give Ursula "for God's sake" a 28-inch sled, it has to work somehow. It's just like when you plan a hike. In the beginning you have ideas that become more concrete - the ideas turn into a plan that won't let you go. It's the same when I study a new bicycle. Thoughts circle around the subject until you have "it". I'm sure you know this too.
But it still needs motivation again and again. Many racing cyclists know it: the weather is not so good, you don't like it, you don't really feel like riding. You tell yourself that it's enough for the moment - and then you just stay at home. Do you also find yourself in this situation?
U: Never! (Laughs). Yes, of course. When you are tired or the weather is not so good. You ask yourself if it really has to be done. If I don't do it then, I pay for it in the evening, have more spasticity or phantom pains, for example. Sometimes it just needs overcoming and the other one who says: "Come, we go only briefly".
Who is the motivator of the two of you. Or is it more mutual?
M: I think it's me at the moment. I'm pretty strict when it comes to training. I check if the training plans are done and if they are followed. And if the training is not done three times, I ask. In the meantime, this has also become much easier. We have a wonderful training roller at home on which you can, for example, ride virtual Mallorca routes. That is also funny because we, here in Mallorca, ride routes that Ursula rides at home on the roller. It's not the same as in the past, when you pedaled around monotonously. Today you can do something great even on a rainy day.
I asked you guys a lot of questions. Is there anything that was not mentioned and should definitely be said? Gladly up to criticism, potential for improvement, etc.
U: There is always a tailwind! (Laughs)
That's not a good training partner. You need a headwind, otherwise you'll get faster and faster.
U: Yes, for mental toughening for sure, in races there can be a headwind. (Laughs). We have been coming to Mallorca for seventeen years now, I have probably already spent a whole year of my life on the island. It's like coming home for me every time. I enjoy it enormously. The change, meeting people, etc. Mallorca is just part of it for me.
We consider ourselves lucky to have you, Ursula and Marcel, as exemplary people and athletes, as our guests every year and thank you very much for the interview.
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Ursula Schwaller (U) and her partner + coach Marcel Kaderli (M) at the training camp in Mallorca. Interviewed on 09.04.21 by Marcel Iseli at the Hotel Grupotel Los Principes. Transcribed by Nicolas Güntensperger.
Photos: Mallorca Cycling Photos/Marcel Kaderli
