Mona Mitterwallner

Cross-country: a choice driven by her love of the freedom it offers

Mona gives us an insight into her daily life outside the world of racing. In a captivating interview, she tells us about the challenges of her sport, the lessons she’s learned from past competitions, the confidence she has in Julbo sports eyewear and her personal experience of wearing glasses.

When her father took her on a bike ride for the first time at the age of six, the impact was immediately obvious: “From that moment onwards, I wanted to spend time outdoors each and every day. I love it so much, that feeling of freedom. To feel the wind, the sun and even the rain.” Mona’s local cycling club specialized in mountain biking. And that’s why she also focused on it: “It’s the discipline I started out in, and I have to say it’s still my favorite discipline now.”

Her training program: physical and mental preparation for competition

Mona Mitterwallner prepares to meet the physical challenges of her discipline with mountain bike training pretty much every day and an innovative training program following the principles of sports science. In winter, she works on her endurance and does complementary sporting activities, such as ski touring and cross-country skiing, which she combines with bodybuilding throughout the year. Another essential part of Mona’s success story is her mental strength. The young woman has forged a solid mental attitude thanks to the positive thinking of her parents who always believed in her success and have encouraged her to be independent since she was little. “It’s all in your head,” she says, illustrating the key role that mindset plays in bike racing. According to Mona, it’s essential to believe in yourself and to have the passion to win so that you’re at your best on the starting line and can take the victory.

Her thoughts and emotions when racing: banishing doubt and focusing on her desire to win
Mona Mitterwallner opens up about her thoughts and emotions at intense moments during a race, including how she banishes doubt and focuses entirely on her desire to win.

Before a race, Mona often has doubts about her abilities. The fear of not being up to par has a significant influence on her morale. Writing down and analyzing her mental states allows Mona to recognize patterns of doubt in her thinking, including in races that she eventually went on to win. She then tells herself that these doubts are like clouds passing through the sky: in other words, they’re temporary and can be overcome. Mona makes a conscious decision to bring positive thoughts into her mind and relies on her passion to win which acts as an anchor in difficult times.

An important lesson learned from competitions: never stop fighting

Mona has learned an important lesson from her competition experience which she sums up in one clear sentence: “Never stop fighting!” A striking anecdote lies behind this principle: she tells us about a race where she started at the back of the pack and ultimately overtook many opponents in a short space of time thanks to her tireless fighting spirit and rock-solid will. Her catchphrase is a good illustration of the following universal message: you can achieve anything if you believe in yourself, trust yourself and have the passion to win. “For me, sport is life. The two are inseparable. I try to have complete mastery over both of them.”

The role of clear vision and her partnership with Julbo

As someone who wears glasses, Mona attaches great importance to the issue of vision in pro sport. “Of course, you can’t win races without seeing clearly, because vision is one of the main elements required for top performance. It’s extremely important to see clearly. So I’m very happy to have Julbo as a partner,” says Mona.