Argentinian Pablo Seewald (24) is one of the best downhillers in Europe. Biking brought him to Engadin. Here he has found his training base and new home.
Pablo was fifteen when he bought his first real mountain bike from the small wage he earned in his father's shop. It should change his life. He has always been cycling, and everyone in his hometown of Bariloche in the Argentinean Andes does.
Pablo wanted more: On foot, he pushed his new bike up Cerro Otto and then the downhill run of his life began. “I was only on the road for two minutes but loved every second of it. I had never experienced anything like this before.” Downhill was Pablo's discipline from then on. He was soon winning race after race and at nineteen he was already Argentinian champion. “This title still makes me proud,” says Pablo, who is now one of the top 20 in the downhill European Cup.
“Over the years, you learn to assess your limits.”
They exist, the departures, where everything is just right. Pablo's first trip to Cerro Otto was one of these and then his victory at the Crankworx in Whistler Mountain, Canada in 2011. Pablo had now left his beloved Patagonia. He won everything in Argentina and the racing series in Europe and North America are more professional.
Pablo is someone who wants to develop himself both personally and sportively. “Over the years, you learn to assess your limits. You exceed them here and there too, which can really hurt.” A year ago, Pablo became the father of a son.
“The responsibility of being a father isn't a burden on me during the races,” he says and immediately limits: “But I may respect my limits a bit more than I used to.”
He came to Switzerland through an uncle, who got him a job as a heating engineer. There he met a man from St. Moritz who brought him to ski service in the Engadin. In winter, he works in the ski workshop, where up to 2,000 skis and snowboards are prepared night after night. In summer, he works as a bike mechanic at Skiservice when he is not racing.
“40 minutes of pure pleasure.”
“Conradin (Conrad) understood me immediately: He used to race ski himself and knows what it means to combine work and sport.” Pablo's racing season runs from May to September. Then he travels a lot.
He always likes to return to Engadin not only because of his young family: “This valley has everything to be the best bike destination in the world. Nature is unique, the ground ranges from rocky to soft. The Engadin demands everything from you and makes you an even better biker every time you go downhill.” Pablo drives a lot of enduro tracks to prepare for the races.
From Piz Nair through Val Suvretta to his front door is one of his most frequent tours. His favorite departure, however, is the route from Lake Bianco on the Bernina Pass to Poschiavo. “The tour is not for beginners. She starts off well, but then she gets wilder and wilder. Here I can intensively bike for a full 40 minutes,” he says with a smile. “40 minutes of pure pleasure.” Like back then, on Cerro Otto ob Bariloche.
This article by Christian Gartmann was published in Skiservice Magazine summer 2018.www.issuu.com/designterminal/docs/ssc_summer2018_rz_issuu