Welcoming Fabi Kraft to the team

It’s Sunday one week before my season kick off in Valencia. As last year, I decided to race here because it’s the first 70.3 in Europe in 2026 and a nice venue to start into a hopefully good year. My winter training has been consistent and good over all three disciplines, so I’m looking forward to test myself against a stacked field and to show my improvements over the last months. Unfortunately, I got sick one week ago, but I’m feeling back in rhythm and strong again, so maybe the rest was even good for my body to absorb the training load.

Comparing the last year, all lot has changed. I still felt like a rookie in my first full pro season and I wasn't quite as professional back then. On the other hand, I was very relaxed and carefree before the races. Since my breakthrough -specifically at the European Championships in Jönköping and the Pro Series in Zell am See - a lot has changed. I don't think I can stay under the radar anymore.

But now I’m more professional and better prepared for the races. Thanks to the support of my sponsors, I can get the most out of my performance - including the wheels from Parcours. In Valencia I will ride the Chrono Max as my front tire for maximum aerodynamics and stability against wind. At the rear I will use the Parcours Disc wheel, which is superlight and aerodynamic as well.

I will travel on Wednesday to Valencia, to have enough time to get familiar with the course and the weather. Even though I already know the course, I feel safer to ride it prior to test the set up and things like the road quality. The rest of the taper week is quite unspectacular. I will do some activations in all three disciplines and some easy hours to keep the body rhythm for race day.

I haven't set any specific goals for the race. The first race of the season is always a bit of a shot in the dark anyway. I want to put in a good performance for myself and show the progress I've made over the winter. As for what my final placing will be, there's not much I can do to influence that. The fact that I've already qualified for the World Championships in Nice helps me feel a little more relaxed going into the race.

My goal for the season is to build on last year’s successes. That’s why my race schedule looks very similar. The highlights, aside from the 70.3 European Championships in Sweden, are of course the 70.3 World Championships in Nice, where I hope to perform better than I did in Marbella.

I'm really looking forward to the race and the race atmosphere in Valencia.