It might be a little bit cheesy and I don’t want to sound like a hero, but nothing is worth anything if you’re not healthy and I think helping people with ill health is the highest good you can do. Working as a doctor has been my ambition since I left school – in fact, I didn’t ever think about being a pro cyclist as I don’t come from a family of sportspeople and I never knew anybody who earned a living from sports. My parents and older sister are also doctors so you could say it runs in the family.
Before you start a medical degree in Germany you have to do a three-month internship in a hospital, so I did that when I was 19 in 2012. I began university in Heidelberg, and was riding as an U23 rider for a small Continental team, Stölting. Cycling was a big passion, but I was a full-time student and could only participate in one or two stage races a season because I had to attend so many courses. At the weekends I was racing a fair bit, but during the week I was at uni most of the time. In Germany, it’s very difficult to combine studying with having a proper job – no one gives a fuck about you being a sportsperson. I’m not whining, but the mentality is that you don't compete in sports at a professional level alongside your studies.
That all changed, though, in my last U23 year when I joined a different Conti team, Kuota-Lotto. I went from full-time to part-time studying and suddenly there were options on the horizon for me to turn pro. In 2016 I joined Giant-Alpecin, and though I did continue studying for a little bit while I was out injured after a crash at a team winter camp, I had to eventually pause my studies during my first years as a pro because I was so busy with being a professional cyclist that everything was overwhelming.
I broke my hand at Paris-Nice in 2020, right before Covid hit, and I was at home unable to train properly and not even sure what I would be training for, so when I learned that my uni would be doing online classes, I decided to restart my studies. I was really scared to go back after a couple of years away and I had the feeling that I’d forgotten almost everything, but it was the right decision. It was definitely stressful, but I realised I was still interested in it and enjoyed it. My team in 2020 and 2021 was Qhubeka and it was good to be working again towards a back-up career given the uncertainty over their future.
There are two degrees I have to complete overall. The first major degree – the first staatsexamen – I have completed and I have to complete a couple of other courses before I can register for the second and last degree, the second staastsexamen. Think of it as needing to complete a Bachelor’s degree before you start a Master’s. If I started studying full-time now, it would take me one more year of studying and one year of practical experience as an assistant doctor until I can officially call myself a doctor. But because I’m fitting it all in around my cycling, it’ll take a little bit longer.
I’ve done a few internships over the years and do a little bit of practical experience every year in hospitals to slowly gain experience, but I definitely need more. Last winter I was studying neurology and I needed to do some practical training before I passed the exam. I was in an emergency department and went into a room with a patient with multiple sclerosis, and the real doctor said to me: ‘OK, do the check up, I’ll be back in 10 minutes’. I was like: Oh my God, I hardly know the theory, but now I’m in the real world, this person is very sick, and I have to do a full neuro status of them despite having zero experience. In the end it worked out fine, but I was so scared.
At the moment I don’t know what field I’d want to specialise in and I’d like to do practical time in all professions before I make a decision. Choosing a specialisation in medicine is not only about what interests you: being a surgeon, for example, would be nice but it would mean mostly giving up your private life and I’m not ready for a job that requires 100% of your capacity. I’d also be happy to start as a general doctor, but I also want to stay involved in cycling. I don’t think an ex-pro has ever become a cycling team doctor before so that could be interesting for me, and I think I’d have high credibility from the riders because I’ve been a pro. I have a lot of respect for team doctors because though 95% of the time it’s the same issues – saddle sores, respiratory infections, wounds from crashes – the other 5% of the time it could be absolutely anything so you need to be able to understand all of professional medicine to judge the problem and treatment.
Throughout my career I’ve not spoken much about my studies because I wasn’t very eager to be seen as the wannabe doctor. I’ve wanted to be taken as Max Walscheid the pro cyclist, a very solid WorldTour cyclist for 10 years. But Jayco-Alula has been a dream for me because they’re really interested in it and encourage me to speak about it.
I also think that most other pros would benefit from having experience in other work settings – it doesn’t have to be a degree, it could be education as a car mechanic. I see now how professional U23 riders are getting, but how poorly they perform socially and in normal life. I am one of the last guys who had a pretty non-professional amateur period, and I had so much fun on weekends and in the off-season. Now they think they have to put all their energy into living like a pro – why would they start an education, they say, as it would hinder their performance – but I don’t agree that’s the right approach. When you learn how to put a car together or write an essay, you have a little bit more credibility for yourself and you know your purpose. Having that alongside your cycling gives you more self-confidence and I am convinced makes you a happier and better rider.
I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve figured out what I am able to achieve and not able to achieve. I’d like to go back to the Tour next year; it’d be nice to be national champion; and Roubaix is always on my mind as it’s the one Monument I’m able to potentially win. Once my career ends, though, I know where my future lies.
- Max
You can read more from the In My Words series here.
