React, think and run. Among the knowledge that has made Jana Lüscher Alemany (Vic, 2000) Spanish mountain bike orienteering champion, there is also the love for nature. Being in the middle of the forest, looking for her way, solving problems and thinking while her legs fail.
Orienteering careers are not very well known. How would you describe what they are about?
They are races against the clock where you don’t know the route until the moment it begins. They are held in an area where entry is prohibited until the day of the competition. Then, they give you a map. You have to pass the checkpoints that you have marked in the designated order and reach the finish line as quickly as possible. I compete both in the mountain bike, MTB, and in the walking category, which obviously has to be running.
What equipment are you wearing?
It is not allowed to carry any GPS device, but we can carry a smart watch to count kilometers. We carry a compass and map on a flat support on the bike. That’s it. It’s all analog.
How did you discover this sport?
For my little sister. She did mountain races and trained in a group in Vic, where her coach did orienteering races. They invited me and I went one day, since she didn’t do sports as such. That was about 2018, when I did my first race. I loved.
Jana Luscher, Spanish orienteering racing champion. / ZOWY VOETEN
She was crowned champion of Spain a few weeks ago. Did she expect it?
Not at all. It was in Badajoz, on April 20 and 21. Throughout the weekend we did three races. The first was the ‘sprint’ through the forest, which is where, beyond pushing yourself physically, the important thing is to get your head working as quickly as possible. And not fail. If you make a mistake taking a path and choosing the longest one, you lose seconds that are very important. Here I failed and lost about 40 seconds. I finished third.
It didn’t start in the best way.
In the afternoon we did the long race, where the winning time was almost an hour and a half. It was on military tank terrain, and it was quite hard to pedal. I was solving the intersections well and I pushed myself to the maximum. I hadn’t competed this year against the other girls and I didn’t know how it was going to turn out. When I arrived they told me I was first. I hallucinated.
And on Sunday, the definitive test.
It was the middle distance. There were many roads and, exceptionally, we could go cross-country to cut back. That, although it can make you go faster, forces you to be more aware of the compass. Also, we had to change the map, which is that you have half a printed circuit on each side of the map so that you can’t see the second part of the race while you are in the first.
When you arrived, did you know you were first?
No way. I didn’t even think about it. But after a while I saw my rivals arriving, who had left before me, and I knew that I had beaten them. Only Mónica Aguilera remained, who was the favorite. She left four minutes later than me and while I was already at the finish line, she arrived. And that’s when they told us that I had won. It was very exciting. I was very happy.
Interview with Jana Luscher, Spanish orienteering champion. / ZOWY VOETEN
It has enormous wear. Not only physical but also mental.
It’s the hardest part. When you’re physically exhausted, making good decisions is more difficult. It’s hard to think. And you have to tune very well and not make mistakes. When you reach the top of everything on a climb, huffing and puffing, chances are you’re going to make a mistake. With orientation races you learn to manage the balance between the mental and physical part and to make decisions quickly. And also not to get frustrated with errors. If you are running, you make a mistake and you are ‘caught’ thinking that you have screwed up, you are already dead. You have to stop thinking about the error and correct it as soon as possible. This is useful for everything in life.
How do you support yourself financially? Is it possible to make a living from it?
No. There are very few people in the world who can make a living from this. There is still more money in walking orientation, but not in mountain biking. In Switzerland, for example, some of them make a living from it, but they are also soldiers, so they get paid from the state. In the Nordic countries they get paid from the State for being elite athletes. It doesn’t happen here. In Spain there is no one who makes a living from it.
Jana Lüscher during a competition. / SERGI OLIVERAS I FERRER
Do you pay everything then?
The Catalan Federation sometimes helps us. Organize training and we can go for free if we have good results. Or, for example, for the trip to Badajoz for the Spanish Championship, they paid for gas, registration and accommodation. What they didn’t pay us were the per diems, but it really pays off.
Now he is going to change his “nationality.”
Last season I competed with the Spanish team. And at the end of the year, the Swiss coach asked me if she wanted to ride for them. We looked at it and I said yes. [su padre nació en Suiza]. You can make a change of record and now I will compete for the Swiss national team. We athletes have to make an economic investment, but if you can continue with the aid, you can pay for it. But, despite that, I can’t do this alone. I work 25 hours a week in a publishing house to be able to juggle everything.
Subscribe to continue reading
2024-05-12 10:33:05
#Jana #Lüscher #champion #orienteering #races #competed #Spain #compete #Switzerland
