ANTON WUENSCHER
Anton is an Enduro racer from Frankfurt, Germany.
Photo credit : Nico Kretzschmar
I’m Anton Wünscher, a lifelong cyclist based in Frankfurt. Cycling has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. After taking my first steps, I soon traded my dummy for my first bicycle at the age of three.
By the time I was nine, I began a ten-year journey racing Motocross and Enduro. Eventually, my first Downhill race completely convinced me that mountain biking was the better path for me.
Photo credit : Nico Kretzschmar
I was never really interested in anything other than things with wheels attached to it, and following the past three generations that have spent their lives racing cars and motorcycles, it was rather clear that I would find a similar path. It just happened to be on mountain bikes now.
So, after racing motocross until the age of 18, a year in British Columbia, Canada, post-high school got me into my first downhill race. The results, a couple of wins, and the people within the traveling racing circus made me stick to it for about six years.
Then enduro slowly crept into my life. Before 2020, I usually took part in one or two enduro events. I wasn’t outstanding but apparently good enough to be picked up by a full-on enduro race team in 2020, racing for the IBIS FIDLOCK Racing team, collecting quite a few podiums and even managing to get onto a few top steps each year too.
Now I feel at home. The people around are great, there’s no ride that isn’t fun, and the time spent somewhere in the hills with friends is just unbeatable. Getting to enjoy nature and seeing new places on a well-crafted piece of equipment that carries you up and down every mountain is an unmatched feeling.
I had heard about Deviate here and there, but it had never really been that present around my little cosmos. With a friend of mine picking up Deviate in his bike shop, he got me hooked as he felt this could be a great match for me. A single guy racing bikes, together with a small one-man bike shop and a bike manufacturer, all with just one thing in mind: having the best time on their bikes—made for a perfect combination.
My highlights so far? Winning the first two EWS100 races in Petzen and Val di Fassa in 2022, as well as spontaneously bikepacking from Frankfurt to Barcelona within eleven days to finish off the trip with four days at La Poma enjoying some dirt jumps with a view over the Mediterranean.
My Deviate Claymore is set up with a mix of trusted and proven parts that stood out over the last few years racing bikes. Beginning with the Trickstuff Direttissima brakes, Aertime cockpit, pedals, and wheels, as well as EXT suspension front and back. I am always running downhill casing, which has kept me free of trouble for four years now, without running any inserts or that kind of stuff.
“The Claymore is the first bike where the only things I have had to replace were the brake pads for a whole season of racing and riding.”
In 2025, I will race some of the national series in the Vosges area but besides that I want to reignite my passion for bikepacking off road and in the mountains. Then also I would like to finally make my way over to Deviate HQ this coming summer. While I am there, I might plan a couple days of Mountainbikepacking or attend a race/event, like Ard Rock.
Follow Anton on the links below:
Instagram
