Sometimes it's the little things that make happy.

A reach into the jersey pocket and a bite into a delicious, natural and healthy snack, for example, that provides the energy to get you over all the mountains. "Our Fit Hit provides everything that cyclists need on the road," says Remo Romer, Managing Director of Romer's Hausbäckerei: "Carbohydrates, high-quality fatty acids, minerals and trace elements." All that is contained in pear bread, which has a long tradition in many regions of Switzerland and is made from a mass of dried fruits and nuts coated in yeast dough.

Thanks to the Romer family's passion for cycling, this culinary tradition now fits in every jersey pocket. Pear bread has been one of the most popular products of Romer's home bakery since the early days. "But we also quickly realised that it actually forms the perfect basis for contemporary sports nutrition," explains Romer.

"Fit Hit is perfect for profi and hobby athletes."

Remo Romer
Managing Director Romer's Hausbäckerei

Since 2010, the Fit Hit snack has also been available in a particularly fruity version with dried apricots, which are an excellent source of provitamin A containing lots of fibre and minerals, potassium, vitamin B and folic acid. Whatever the flavour, "Fit Hit is perfect for profi and hobby athletes," says Remo Romer.

And even though there is always a lot going on in Romer's home bakery – the company is also a guarantor of consistency. In addition to its passion for high-quality baked goods, the company has also supported cycling for many years. Romer's Hausbäckerei is therefore not only a partner of Swiss Cycling – the Swiss Cycling Federation – but also of Huerzeler.

Package guests can therefore enjoy both Fit-Hit flavours, which are included as a gift in every "Huerzeler bag". It's worth taking a bite. If you want more, you'll find the snacks in the Huerzeler boutiques. Because sometimes it's the little things that make you feel really happy.

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Text: Jens Vögele
Photos: Romers, Huerzeler

Unlike in the past, the focus is on the shared experience. For our guests, this is the opportunity to experience a very likeable cycling star up close.

Tour de France. Giro d'Italia. Vuelta a España
These are the three big tours that have the greatest impact on cycling fans every year. And where professional cyclists can ride into the limelight.Tony Rominger has been on the podium in all of these tours. Tony Rominger has been on the podium at all of these races – at the Giro and the Vuelta he even reached the top four times.

Today – 25 years after one of Switzerland's most successful cyclists ended his career these successes still resonate. Tony Rominger's career was remarkable: he was Swiss Cyclist of the Year four times, was once awarded the Vélo d'Or as the best cyclist in the world, won a total of 94 races – and took the world hour record from his great rival Miguel Indurain in 1994, cycling 53,832 kilometres in 60 minutes first on 22 October and 55,291 kilometres only two weeks later.

"Take out a little bit of speed
and enjoy."

Tony Rominger

Today, Tony has shifted down a few gears, but his love for cycling still glows – and he has been able to live it out perfectly since 2014 in the team of "Huerzeler – the cycling experience". Tony loves to travel by road bicycle among like-minded people. "As a professional, you are fully focused on the preparation and on the race," he says: "But today I can experience the landscape, people and culture much more intensively." And suddenly the circle closes.

Rominger Classic Series
Tony Rominger returns to the successful sites of his career on his bicycle. Not to the big tours, of course. "But to the smaller ones, which I also won." And cycling enthusiasts can experience them up close at Huerzeler – on multi-day tours under the name "Rominger Classic Series". Behind this are cycling tours led by Tony Rominger, on which hobby cyclists of all levels can enjoy the flair of a round trip – of course with the sporting ambition of exploring an area on a road bicycle. But the bottom line is relaxed.

Tirreno Adriatico – the race between the seas
Divided into four performance groups, around 50 cycling enthusiasts took to the wheels of Tirreno Adriatico in 2022 – a tour that Tony won in 1989 and 1990. In nine stages, the route went from Rome – from the Tyrrhenian Sea – to the Adriatic Sea and further into Tuscany to Florence. The sporting highlight was the Terminillo Pass over the Apennines at almost 1900 metres. Those who want to experience as much as possible from Tony should not be among the fastest. "I usually lead group two or three," says Tony in his likeable modesty: "Because I'm not that fit these days." Though, of course, that is an understatement. He now sits on his bicycle with the composure of a champion, knowing that a lower pulse rate makes the experience factor skyrocket. "Cycling tours give me great pleasure because they are the most beautiful way to get to know a country." What's special for the guests is that they get very close to one of the great cyclists. And that feels a bit like playing football with Franz Beckenbauer or a round of tennis with Steffi Graf.

"Cycling tours are the
most beautiful way to get to know a country."

Tony Rominger

Favourite routes and other classics
As a racer, Tony Rominger was considered a perfectionist – which is why it is in his nature to meticulously prepare for cycling tours under his guidance. He knows South Africa like the back of his hand from his training days as a pro. And besides Thailand, he especially loves America: "Seattle – San Francisco is one of my absolute favourite routes. Scenically, it's a dream." So Tony still gets around 10,000 cycling kilometres a year and has more fun in the saddle than probably ever before in his life. Of course, he will still accompany these trips to other continents in the future. But with the Rominger Classic Series, he will henceforth also set his sights on Europe.

In 2021, Tony celebrated the premiere of the Rominger Classic Series with the Tour de Romandie (Rominger victories: 1991 and 1995). In the coming years, the programme will include Paris – Nice (1991 and 1994), the Tour of the Mediterranean (1989), the Tour of Burgos (1996) and the Tour of the Basque Country (1992, 1993 and 1994). Tony has grown particularly fond of the Basque Country: "I trained there a lot," he looks back. He knows his way around perfectly there, "in one of the most beautiful areas I know" – and is looking forward to returning there without the stress of racing. "In the race, we often had snow there," Tony remembers. But don't worry: the pros race the Tour of the Basque Country in April. Tony will set off for the Rominger Classic in northern Spain in June. In addition to his own wealth of experience, he also has several insider tips in his luggage. "Of course, I still have a good network with my old team colleagues, who make sure that we really get to the most beautiful and best points," says Tony.

"For us, the focus is always on enjoyment and the experience," is how Tony Rominger describes the character of his cycling tours. In the meantime, he openly admits to having suffered from the permanent pressure as a professional cyclist. He enjoys the atmosphere on cycling tours all the more. And the guests also seem to enjoy it. Many of them have been regulars for a long time," says Tony – who, after the travel restrictions during the Corona period, is eager to travel Europe and the world again with like-minded people. But for all his relaxedness and composure, one thing above all should not be done: underestimate Tony Rominger, who – if he wants to can still be really fast: "The only good thing about Corona," he says, "is that I've cycled more than I have in 20 years."

About the person
Tony Rominger

Short biography
Born 1961, in Denmark
Grew up in Menzingen, Switzerland

Racing info
Active in road racing until 1997
Over 125 victories with the pros
including overall classification from the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta Espana, Paris – Nice, Tirreno – Adriatico, Tour de Romandie and Basque Country

Racing cyclist world number 1 in 1993 – 1994 and hour world record

"Rominger Classic Series"
Since 2014 with Huerzeler as organiser and
leader of worldwide cycling tours

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Text: Jens Vögele
Photos: Graham Watson, Tony Rominger, Huerzeler

When Edi Glanzl is asked by other people about his dream job, he starts laughing somewhat mysteriously. He is one of those who swap their everyday life for a few months on Mallorca every year. Sitting on his bicycle almost every day from February to June, covering 8,000 kilometres and making sure that the guests who book a cycling holiday with Huerzeler are well and safely guided around the island.
 
Huerzeler guide. Many cyclists who come to the island dream of staying. That was the case with Edi a good ten years ago. Actually, he just wanted to explore Mallorca after a cycling holiday and discovered that Huerzeler was also looking for guides. Hardly later he had a three-month contract in his pocket. Edi had previously run a fashion agency in his hometown of Lienz in East Tyrol for 15 years and held the general agency for several Italian brands for Austria and Switzerland. "But I didn't want to spend the rest of my working life in a car," he says in retrospect about the time when he dared to cut off old pigtails. At the same time that he hired on as a guide, he had the opportunity to take over a traditional chestnut stand in Lienz. And when Edi's wife Margit got the offer to work in the boutique at Huerzeler during the cycling season. Sounds like the beginning of Glanzls' new life.

"We almost feel at home," Edi says about life in the hotel. Margit, who initially worked in the boutique of the Los Principes hotel has now moved to the Assos outlet for work, enjoys the time just as much as Edi, who will be entering his eleventh season as a guide for the "Hobby lang" group in Playa de Muro in 2023. For Edi, the ideal group, because the tours have the length to do everything that is beautiful on Mallorca from a cycling perspective. But at the same time, and this is exactly Edi's nature, "it's not as stressful" as with the faster groups.

"At least 80% of the people keep coming back because humour is more important to us than wattage."

Edi Glanzl

Anyone who has ridden with Edi knows that it's anything but serious. But only those who bring a bit of form with them have fun - but then really. Eddy's "Hobby lang" group does not ride slowly. And yet there is a lot of laughter along the way. "At least 80 % of the people keep coming back," he knows, "because humour is more important to us than wattage."

They know that Edi is good with people, even in his home town of Lienz. Even from September to January, when he roasts chestnuts and sells them together with a good glass of wine, he gets into conversation with many people. He is good at talking. But he is also good at listening. And everyone who knows and likes Edi appreciates that very much.

Edi enjoys both the maroni time in Lienz and the cycling time on Mallorca to the fullest. "Every day is different," he describes his non-everyday life. "I'm happy that I can lead a varied life and don't have to sit in the office." The Huerzeler guests that Edi guides around Mallorca also appreciate this variety. Edi is always on the lookout for new paths and variations. And he avoids the mainstream: "If everyone goes to Petra, then we'll go somewhere else," he says: "For me, the journey is the destination."

"The fact that I don't feel like cycling doesn't happen to me."

Edi Glanzl

And yet, of course, he also has the classic routes in his repertoire. Taking the boat from Soller to Sa Calobra and then cycling up the legendary pass road with its good 700 steep metres of altitude – that is still one of the highlights of Mallorca for Edi, too. He even prefers to do it when the sun is not burning down from the sky as many tourists like it. "As a Tyrolean, I'm used to the cold," he says with a laugh. Even days with bad weather Edi turns into good days with his sunny disposition and says with conviction: "That I don't feel like cycling doesn't happen with me."

Unfortunately, he doesn't get really rich as a guide, and maybe that's where his mysterious laugh comes from. "There's a lot of passion behind it," says Edi – but he also emphasises that he can enjoy many comforts. Room and board are free for the guides during the season, and Huerzeler also takes care of flights and clothing.
Huerzeler also takes care of flights and clothing: "We are treated well here," he says.

And yet he's a bit happy when it's time to go home again in mid-June. "We have the Grossglockner behind us in Lienz, the Dolomites in front of us and only 160 kilometres to the sea" – ideal for spending the summer in Tyrol. When the summer comes to an end, Edi can already look forward to Mallorca. In their city flat, the Glanzls only have to turn off the light and turn the key to temporarily leave their home again. But until then they still have four and a half months of Maroni Stand ahead of them. They will talk, listen and laugh a lot there, too. And they will be passionate about what they do.

During the week, they get fresh products delivered directly from Piedmont. Every single chestnut is scratched by Edi himself. Then the chestnuts get four or five minutes of real heat so that they burst open, and then they steep for another 15 minutes. Edi looks pleased and says, "That's how they become perfect."

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Text: Jens Vögele
Photo: Edi Glanzl

It has long been more than a matter of course that racing cyclists train on Mallorca. Many hobby cyclists go on cycling holidays on the sunny island at least once a year. And the professionals also make a stop here. Every year at the beginning of February, the professional teams meet for the first time at the Tour of Mallorca. And if you keep your eyes open, you will always meet prominent heads, professional cyclists or even Tour de France winners on the island, who – mostly in cooperation with Huerzeler – take advantage of the perfect conditions on the Balearic Islands.

But fans of other sports also have the chance to see one or the other well-known athlete on a road bicycle. For example, the best Swiss skiers are regulars at Playa de Muro in the north of Mallorca. Opposites attract, one might think at first glance. But why the strength- and coordination-oriented winter sport is a perfect match for the summer endurance sport of cycling is explained by Peter Eichberger, fitness coach at the Swiss Ski Association Swiss-Ski, as simply as it is obvious: "After the end of the ski season in April and two or three weeks off, road cycling is an ideal foundation for the new season." Circumferences and load, says the coach, can be perfectly defined individually on the road bicycle to prepare "the legs, which are our main working muscles" for a successful racing season on the ski slopes. In addition, the national coach explains that the fully trained and voluminous leg muscles of the athletes are only conditionally suitable for running training, for example, especially against the background of many a knee injury that almost every athlete in the alpine racing circus has caught at some point.

"Road cycling is ideal for laying the foundations for the new season."

Peter Eichberger

Eichberger spent eight days with the Swiss Ski Team in Playa de Muro last May, taking with him sophisticated training plans based on performance tests. On Mallorca for the first time: Vivianne Härri from the elite World Cup GS training group. She has secured a fixed place for the coming World Cup season thanks to successful placings in the European Cup. In a group of seven athletes, she completed two training blocks of three, but also got to know the charm of the island. "Cala Sant Vicenç with its clear water," she says, is already one of her favourite spots.

"Because the support from Huerzeler is perfect, we have been coming back every year since 2005."

Peter Eichberger

However, despite all the beauty of the island, the professional athletes do not lose their focus on training – which, however, is much more fun in the charming landscape of Mallorca than at home, for example. "We have the best conditions here," says World Cup racer Jasmine Flury, who finished second in the downhill in Garmisch last season. Mallorca is a perfect fit because the weather in Mallorca is more stable in spring than in Switzerland, Jasmine explains. Coach Peter Eichberger calls that "planning security". Here, the professional athletes can complete their training in the planned volumes and distances. "And because Huerzeler's support is perfect, we've been coming back every year since 2005," he says. "Perfect guiding, ideal training material and opportunities for regeneration" are among the factors he can rely on with his team.

Although the training blocks with distances between 85 and 135 kilometres are basically structured similarly for all athletes – but in order to be able to train as precisely as possible, different training groups are needed. "And also the security of not having to fight the wind for three hours," says Peter. This is ensured by the experienced Huerzeler guides, who know exactly when to go in which direction and whom Peter Eichberger and the Swiss Ski Team can "trust blindly."

"Endurance training is extremely important for us," explains downhill and super-G specialist Jasmine: "We lay the foundation here for further conditioning work and for the entire summer training block." Precisely because professional skiers are then often at exposed altitudes, "aerobic capacity promotes the ability to recover in snow training and later, of course, also in competition," adds national coach Peter Eichberger. And that's exactly why the pros take things seriously even in the early stages of the season. That means: train, eat, sleep, repeat. "Of course, we also treat ourselves to breaks on the road with a café con leche," says Peter. He himself enjoys the atmosphere, for example, on the market square in Petra, which always turns into a kind of cycling Mecca at midday, where countless cyclists meet.

However, unlike many hobby cyclists, the pros give other – rather unhealthy – culinary tapas temptations a wide berth. "Our athletes really appreciate that we make this training camp possible," says Peter. So professionalism in a good team atmosphere is the order of the day. And that also means strength training or regeneration with massage, cold water baths or sauna after the units on the bicycle. "The goal in training as in competition is always to get the body ready for tomorrow's task," Peter explains. With such perfect conditions, Jasmine Flury hopes for a successful World Cup season and a good placing at the World Championships in February in Courchevel and Méribel. And Vivanne Härri wants to establish herself permanently in the World Cup circus. At home in Switzerland, too, she will sit on her road bicycle from time to time during summer training. And perhaps she will remember her very special experiences in Mallorca. On the day of departure – it is almost a tradition in the Swiss Ski Team – they usually ride in the early hours of the morning into the sunrise at Cape Formentor. "That's a very special atmosphere," Jasmine enthuses.

"With this material it's completely unnecessary to bring our own bicycles."

Peter Eichberger

Back at Playa de Muro, they simply hand in their road bicycles, drive to the airport and fly back to Switzerland, enjoying the support of Huerzeler for the last time: "With this material, it's completely unnecessary to bring our own bicycles," says coach Peter Eichberger. Once, however, he says, an athlete insisted on taking his own road bicycle to the training camp. But it didn't take him long to change his mind – and the next year he trained on a Huerzeler rental bicycle like everyone else.

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Text: Jens Vögele
Photos: Swiss-Ski

When Max Hürzeler enters the Hotel Playa de Muro in spring, there is something sublime about it. The cyclists who populate the area at that time seem to pay homage to him. Some greet him – whether with exuberance or a reserved wave. Others watch him. Some curiously, some with furtive glances. And all this feels majestic. As if a king were revered by his people.

In contrast to Ballermann, where many a buffoon would like to compete with the self-appointed ruler Jürgen Drews, there is not even a rudimentary discussion among racing cyclists about who is the real king.
There is not even a rudimentary discussion among racing cyclists about who is the true king of Mallorca: the one who brought the first racing cyclists to the island 35 years ago. The one who pursued this idea so consistently that today Mallorca is the most attractive training island for all racing cyclists.
for all racing cyclists. It is King Max, the first.

"Bicycle Holidays Max Huerzeler" was his empire, which was taken over in 2005 by Walter Güntensperger and Marcel Iseli, expanded and developed into "Huerzeler – The Cycling Experience".
The day it all began was 8 March 1986 – at the Hotel Delta, east of Playa de Palma. The first season lasted five weeks, Hürzeler had 185 guests. "I earned nothing at all for the first few years," he says looking back. Hürzeler, still an active racing cyclist at the time, wanted to organise a training camp where he himself could stay for free.

"We raced like idiots – it was cruel."

Max Hürzeler

"We raced like idiots back then, it was cruel," he recalls with a laugh. "Cruel" is one of his favourite words and an attribute for everything funny, bizarre, remarkable – and cruel. His cruel bet from the pioneering days: Hürzeler drives everything in the wind to the foot of the San Salvador. Afterwards: Mountain race up to the monastery. Whoever outruns him there gets a week's free holiday as a reward. "But of course no one has managed that," says Hürzeler with his typical look: flashing eyes, mischievous laughter, and then he asks with a facial expression full of self-satisfaction: "Verstehsch?"

"And then I was unbeatable. Verstehsch?"

Max Hürzeler

But at the time, hardly anyone suspected that he had something else in mind with the bet: "The hobby cyclists made me world champion," Hürzeler says proudly. Until then he had been a thoroughly respectable track rider, but he had not yet had enough for the big one. But in 1987, after five failed attempts, he took the crown in the standing event in Vienna and became world champion. "I lost five times because I was always doing cruelly many other things," he says, who had long been extremely successful trading in trophies and textiles in Switzerland. For 1987, however, he concentrated, worked with a natural healer, trained consistently, made bets with guests on Mallorca – "and then I was unbeatable. Verstehsch?"

"Until then," he says, "I was the Hürzeler who could ride a bicycle like a maniac, but suddenly I was the world champion – and that brought me cruel acceptance here in Mallorca." Reason enough to retire as a racer: "I raced for 15 years and wanted to retire as the reigning world champion because it all got too much for me – I was at the top of my game." By now Hürzeler was a wealthy businessman, he tells – with his typical Hürzeler look – how he became the biggest T-shirt importer in Switzerland and how he sold more tracksuits there than Adidas. "Verstehsch?"

Because he, the trained engineer who once drew pumps for nuclear power plants, dared to travel to Thailand without knowing a word of English – cruel – because the production of textiles there was unbeatably cheap compared to Europe. However, his business acumen, the glamour that the world championship title gave him and his outstanding talent as an entertainer also made his young company in the bicycle travel business grow faster than he thought.

Already in the second year, the number of participants more than doubled to 440, the first two-colour three-page brochure quickly developed into glossy catalogues, until Hürzeler added a second hotel to the programme next to the Delta in 1995: the Playa de Muro, a few kilometres east of Alcudia. 445 rooms, with the expectation of 80 percent occupancy. "That was cruelly brave," says Hürzeler, but his concept worked. Where everything was still closed in March, cyclists suddenly moved in. The hotelier's initial scepticism quickly gave way in the spring sunshine, especially as the weather played along perfectly. "And then he realised that cyclists spend three times as much on drinks as normal holidaymakers," Hürzeler looks back.

Perhaps it was the smartest move to go to the north of the island – because today Playa de Muro and its immediate surroundings have become the epicentre for racing cyclists. The number of weekly guests there has long been in the four-digit range – the proportion of regular customers is high. They appreciate the Swiss thoroughness that Hürzeler stands for in every detail, despite the rapid growth.

And even though the Huerzeler family has become big, very big – personal contact with his guests has been important to the boss from the very beginning. And that hasn't changed to this day. "Our guests have to have fun and go home satisfied," he explains. Anyone who meets Hürzeler today experiences a person who conveys that he can enjoy his life. He still gets on his racing bicycle regularly, but rarely before noon and never in bad weather. On the mountain, he likes to let others ride ahead, "because then they are satisfied that they have sawn the Hürzi". And about his own performance he says self-deprecatingly: "Former champion, today lampion." The only thing that vehemently contradicts the impression that he rests in himself is his loud temperament. When the king cycles across his island, he lets his people share in it. He greets everyone, engages people in conversation, always with a typical Hürzi saying on his lips. And he knows how to breathe despite his suboptimal form. He only takes the lead with a tailwind and proudly declares at the end of the ride: "I'm a stayer – without sweat to victory. Understand?"

Looking back on his eventful career, however, Max Hürzeler seems almost sentimental. Looking at the many old photos and documents stirs him up. How his dream of winning the world championship finally came true. And that his pacesetter Ueli Luginbühl is no longer among the living. How it all began, back in the Delta with a small garage as a bicycle cellar, where the first Hürzeler bicycles from Radsport Gerber hung. How devastating the roads looked back then and that they had a broom bicycle whose rider swept broken pieces and dirt from the streets. And how they simply blocked streets in 2001 to demonstrate and Hürzeler was afraid of being jailed for it. And how they started travelling home from Mallorca by ferry and bicycle and how this developed into the long-distance journeys they use today to explore the world. And everything else that has come out of it.

That they now rent out 70 bicycles per hour, "that's less than a minute between signing the contract and handing out the bicycle. Get it?" And suddenly it's there again, Max Hürzeler's majestic self-confidence. "The value chain for Mallorca is enormous," he says. And he knows exactly how big his part in it is. Max Hürzeler is proud of what he has achieved and what the racing world associates with him. The "King of Mallorca" secretly loves it when his guests, friends and fans call him that. He knows about the majestic flair that surrounds him. And he also knows how to enjoy it. When, in quiet minutes, he looks contentedly at all this, it is quite likely that he says silently to himself: "You, that's cruel."

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Text: Jens Vögele

Photos: Björn Hänssler

The life of a Mallorca cycling tourist is beautiful. Nice and easy, especially for those who ride a rental bike. Just queue up at the rental desk, sign the rental contract, have your stride length measured - and a well-maintained road bicycle in the perfect size rolls out of the cycling station. You're ready to go!

Around 5500 bicycles are waiting to be ridden out week after week at Huerzeler. In the high season, they leave the rental stations every minute to spend carefree cycling holidays with their riders. However, the effort behind this remains invisible to most cyclists: to ensure that everything runs smoothly in the total of 15 Huerzeler cycling stations - 12 of which are on Mallorca alone - a large team of station managers, mechanics and service staff work hand in hand. And the person who coordinates all this is an old hand in the business. He has been a member of the Huerzeler team for 16 years and is now in charge of rentals: Andreas Klenk is the lord of the bicycles.

Like so many who have stuck with Huerzeler, Andreas started out as a guide. After a career break in Gran Canaria, where he learned Spanish, he came to Mallorca in February 2005 to lead tours as a group leader. "By chance, a position as boutique manager became available at the same time," Andreas looks back. When he started working there - at that time still at the Hotel Delta in the south of the island - he did not realise that he would turn his back on Germany permanently and never return to his job as a state-certified central heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician.

"Times were different in 2005," Andreas thinks back fondly to his early years. "We were all bike freaks who came to the island during the season and improvised a lot with a lot of passion." The passion, Andreas says, has remained. "But many jobs with us today are done by people who live on Mallorca all year round," he says. Andreas has long since settled down on the island, too, and has started a family with whom he lives in a house in Can Picafort. And as rental manager, he has his hands full. Both in the times when the cyclists populate the island and in those months when they are gone again.

"Some days in high season we rent out 500 bikes."

Andreas Klenk

Anyone who rents a bicycle from Huerzeler benefits from what Andreas and his large team organise all year round. Together with his deputy Sergio Garcia and assistant Elke Stamm, he pulls the strings in the office opposite the Hotel Playa de Muro. "On some days in the high season, we rent out 500 bikes," he says. And of course that also means that 500 bikes come back. The 20 or so colleagues who work at Playa de Muro alone on such days know exactly what to do with them. There are precisely defined, standardised processes.

Long gone are the days when guests could clean their bikes themselves. "The condition of the bikes was too varied and not really controllable," says Andreas. Today, every rental bike is professionally cleaned and serviced when it returns. The drive is oiled, bearings lubricated, tyres changed, wheels centred. So that perfectly maintained bikes are always waiting for a new renter. There are rarely any bottlenecks. In the high season, however, nothing works without a reservation. "This is the only way we can guarantee that the right bicycles in the right size are at the right place," Andreas explains.

While in the past it was mainly racing cyclists who came to Mallorca, today there are cyclists with very different requirements - not least since the e-bike sector is booming. "When I started, we had three types of bicycles - today there are already four types of racing bicycle alone," says Andreas. In addition, there are sports bicycles, e-bikes, city bicycles and children's bicycles. Fifteen years ago, Huerzeler had about 1800 bicycles in stock. In the meantime, the number has quadrupled. That means about 40,000 weekly rentals per season and an additional 15,000 daily rentals.

Especially on Mallorca - where significantly more than 90 per cent of the bicycles are rented out - this means that every week bicycles have to be transported from station to station. "During the high season, we are constantly juggling to make sure everything works out," says Andreas. Trucks are used to transport the bicycles across the island - and at the same time Andreas has to be permanently available. For challenges that arise internally or requests that come to him from outside. "It's amazing how everything has developed and become more professional," he says, describing his job, where no two days are the same.

"Cube as manufacturer and Huerzeler as bike travel specialist work together constructively and trustfully."

Andreas Klenk

In summer and winter - when it is quiet on the island from a cycling point of view - Andreas' working day changes significantly. He then no longer has to react and juggle at short notice, but can start to plan long-term and strategically. To keep the fleet modern, he suggests to the management how many bicycles should be sold and which should be purchased for the coming season. The fact that a long-term partnership has been established with Cube helps him. The two industry giants - Cube as a manufacturer, Huerzeler as a bike travel specialist - work together constructively and trustfully.

They know each other well on both sides, Andreas is in close contact with the bicycle manufacturer. Nevertheless, planning is always complex. The most important thing is that the quality is right. The equipment of the bicycles is standardised, for example with regard to stem lengths, handlebar widths or seat posts. There is a detailed assembly protocol down to the last screw, which is worked through at Cube in the Upper Palatinate.

Andreas also acts as a link to the management at Huerzeler. Which bicycle types have to be purchased in which sizes? Where does the fleet need to be expanded? Which trends do you have to detect and follow? He regularly discusses all these questions with the management, whereby it is especially important to have the necessary foresight, because the planning for purchasing requires at least 18 months of advance planning.

Even though his working days are packed, Andreas takes the time to get on his own bicycle regularly whenever he can. Does his job challenge him? Andreas doesn't have to think long: "Very much so," he says. Six days a week his engine is running at full speed. "And even on your day off you often get calls from colleagues."

But Andreas also knows how to enjoy life on Mallorca - and that he was able to turn his hobby into a profession there. Encounters with some big names are almost part of everyday life for Andreas. Max Hürzeler, founder of the company and 1987 World Champion in motor paced cycling, for example, is still present around the Playa de Muro - and still maintains the best contacts with the greats of the cycling world. And Tony Rominger, one of the best cyclists in the world in the 1990s and a cycling icon in Switzerland, who has been part of the Huerzeler team for several years and is appreciated by Andreas and everyone in the team as a colleague who is completely free of airs and graces. But successful athletes from other disciplines also find their way to Mallorca time and again to train on the bike. Even those who are actually used to much higher speeds. And so one day Andreas found the signature on a bicycle rental contract that would be a gem for motorsport fans. When Andreas looked up, he saw into the eyes of two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen.

Text: Jens Vögele
Photos: Huerzeler

Together we take a look back, behind the scenes, more precisely behind the massage bench. How did the two become involved with us? What experience did they gain and what health tips can they give our guests?

I ring the two of them in the middle of the moving rush. They are preparing for the return to their home country Germany and have made themselves comfortable in the midst of moving boxes. There is a good, relaxed spirit of optimism, but I notice that they also find it difficult to say goodbye – with one laughing eye and one crying eye, as the saying goes.

Hired by Max Hürzeler personally
The story of the Huerzeler Massage Team begins in 2004. Company founder Max Hürzeler, then the "Lord of the Wheels", meets Kerstin, who works as a sports masseuse, at the Hotel Boccaccio on Majorca. The two start talking. Max quickly recognises Kerstin's potential, as she brings a great wealth of experience in the field of sports massages and is used to dealing with athletes across the spectrum, from recreational to professional. Max does not want to miss these qualities in his business and so he offers Kerstin the job in the Playa de Muro South station. Soon after, Petra also joins the team – that's how it was and how it has remained – until now.

More than just massages
Over the years, the company has grown continuously, which has also had a noticeable effect on the guest structure. Not only top-ambitious, performance-driven cyclists, but also many pleasure focused cyclists  became our guests. Thus, Kerstin and Petra, in addition to being masseuses, were also popular and appreciated group leaders of the beginners' strength class. The two led many groups through the most beautiful parts of Majorca. 

Working close to the guest and close to the team
As sports masseuses and group leaders, both were literally close to the guests and also to the Huerzeler team. In many cases, our cycling guides also made use of the massage team's services. This closeness to the guests and the team meant that the massage team was always well informed about what was happening. "In some cases even better than the boss. If you wanted to know something more, you just had to press a little harder during the massage," as Kerstin jokingly puts it.

Problem zone legs: Where overconfidence hurts
I ask the two of them what problems cyclists brought to their massage sessions. "Mainly leg problems, especially in the thighs," they say as if fired from a cannon. Yes. I definitely could have spared myself this question...

"What exactly causes these problems and how can they be prevented?" I want to know more. The core of the problem is often an excessive urge to perform after the winter break, I am told. You want to get back to the level of the previous season as quickly as possible and forget that the muscles first have to get used to this performance all over again.

In many cases, cyclists practise running over the winter, which is less dependent on the weather, in order to keep fit. This can also lead to problems, as the movement profiles of the muscles in running and cycling are fundamentally different. Performing an untrained movement at a familiar performance level really "insults" the muscles because they have to do a new, unfamiliar job. This often leads not only to muscular problems, but also affects the knee joints and Achilles tendons, which can be very unpleasant for those affected.

In order to prevent injuries when you get back on your bike after a longer break, you would be well advised to ride a little more comfortably than usual at first, to approach the performance target gradually and step by step and, above all, to pay attention to the (pain) signals of the body. This is especially true if the bike was put in the basement during the winter and other sports were practised to keep fit. Warm-up exercises and the right clothing are also crucial in preventing sports injuries. "Cold" muscles are known to be a major weak point.

Summer, sun, muscle strain
The task sounds easy and logical - but apparently not everyone finds it easy. Otherwise Petra and Kerstin would have had "nothing" to do over the years. Many cyclists tend to pedal harder than their muscles allow because they are tempted by the optimal conditions and by spurring each other on during their cycling holidays. The beautiful, mild spring weather on the Balearic island does the rest and attracts many cyclists to the roads in short-sleeved, often too cold summer clothing - also with the desire for a healthy tan. The result of this impetuous riding and the overly optimistic choice of clothing is pulled muscles and tension - the daily business of our massage team.

So long and farewell
However, the two masseuses are not complaining about it in the least, because they love their job. You have to when you're standing at the massage bench seven days a week for several months. Ideally, they would like to continue in this profession after their time at Huerzeler. Where exactly the journey will take them is still open. The Corona crisis is causing uncertainty, as it does for many. One thing is certain: the two will not turn their backs on Majorca forever. They want to continue to cultivate the friendships they have made over the years with the team, the guests and the locals and pay a visit to the probably most beautiful island in the Mediterranean from time to time.

Dear Petra, dear Kerstin. Thank you for many years of effort. We miss you already and keep our fingers crossed for the future. And don't forget: "Onetime Huerzeler family, always Huerzeler family." Hasta luego!

Petra Köhler and Kerstin Fette in conversation with Nicolas Güntensperger, Online Marketing Manager, Huerzeler - The cycling experience.
Photos: Huerzeler - The cycling experience