The first attack hits you hard. It is made after only 100 metres. On the first small climb. No games, no lamentation. Power Hour means anarchy. Hierarchies are falling apart.
There are several rides at FOCUS. Varying FOCUS employees meet up for different purposes. Some with e-support, some without. Every Thursday, there is a big mountain bike group ride. Open to everyone, also non FOCUS employees. Riding together is the main priority. It is a different matter with the Power Hour. Riding together is important, but equivally vital is the competition. You can feel the passion for pain upfront. Heads ducking down behind monitors when a Power Hour is announced.
Once a week, a bunch of FOCUS employees challenge each other to the maximum. Voluntarily. Hope for an easy start is destroyed within the first minute. One hour of power means one hour of power. All out from the beginning. The steep "Hasenbergsteige" road is taken at full tilt right away. No rider will recover from this first punch over the next 24 km. Blood taste in their mouths will become a constant companion for the competitors.
The classic Power Hour consists of gravel roads and a lot of single trails. Demanding trails if you are on a Gravel or Cyclo-Cross bike. Especially challenging when the lack of oxygen is making the mind dizzy. On every little hill, speed increases or is pushed to new heights by an explosive attack. Attacks where all competitors need to calculate if they can jump onto that wheel – as everybody already is on his personal threshold anyways.
The Power Hour gets you up to shape like nothing else. In the end, everybody is satisfied: One rider is proud of an attack. Another one is just glad that it is over. A third is happy that his form curve is pointing upwards. And one guy is already planning revenge for the next Power Hour. Because one thing is for sure: Nobody can rest on his laurels. The next Power Hour is coming up soon.