Interview: Tokyo 2021 - Githa Michiels

In the anticipation of Tokyo 2021, we interviewed our qualified athletes before they pack their bags! This week in the spotlight: Githa Michiels.

• Githa Michiels / 28-03-1983 / Ekeren, Belgium / Mountain biking

"I am starting to feel completely ready for the battle, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together."

"It would be a sport for which you need tremendous endurance anyway, I would think of triathlon."

"I started mountain biking when I was 16 years old."

"The first part of the preparation for Tokyo went smoothly, afterwards a few problems cropped up with the loss of my team and some injuries. Giving up is not in our vocabulary so we made the best of it."

"After Rio I swore to myself to be the best Githa ever in Tokyo, since then I won a bronze medal at the European Games in Glasgow. This is still a moment I'm immensely proud of and where I look back on with a good feeling!"

"Of course this has thrown a little spanner in the works. For example with the competitions and some training weeks that got canceled. We needed to be a little flexible with the training build-up, that's the reason why I have a very good endurance towards Tokyo."

"We leave for Tokyo on July 14."

"My race is on July 27 at 3 p.m. local time, which in Belgium is at 9 a.m. if I'm not mistaken."

"My goal is to reach top eight. "

"I always looked up to Paola Pezzo, an italian mountain biker. She won Olympic gold in Atlanta and Sydney."

"I got to know 6d Sports Nutrition at preparation in Lanzarote and I was immediately very satisfied with the products."

"Because of the many hours of training, the products I used the most were the Isotonic Sports Drink, the Energy Cake and the Recovery Shake."

"All of these products definitely give me enough energy for the long and taxing training and they also help me for an optimal recovery towards the next training session."

"Not eating enough during my training is something I could catch myself doing in the past, but with the 6d products providing enough energy I also have products with a fresh and delicious taste so there is no reason to go for a ride without energy."

"The Isotonic Sports Drink is something that's definitely at the top of my list, without energy I would not be able to pedal the necessary wattages on the tough track in Tokyo to reach my goal.""