Have you watched the documentary? 
I think it was two weeks ago that I saw the first rough cut and it was around one hour, so they cut it down to 45 minutes. It is super cool. Also, for me to see my decision in a movie, it's quite special. For sure, I always knew what I what I did and what I do. Also what I what I do now with the cycling, but to see that I left behind my whole life as a ski-mo athlete, all the nice memories, and especially my last race at the World Championship. To see this, I have to admit, I had some tears in my eyes because it was my whole life. And now it's the past and afterwards, I also say that it was the right decision to do this. Even it was even it was super special.

What did you hope to achieve by partnering with Red Bull to make this documentary?
Well, first of all, I would say the decision was completely for myself. I was not happy any more with ski-mo. With ski-mo I was happy but I was not happy about my life as a professional athlete. I was a professional ski mountaineering athlete for eight years, so it was my work. And my work was to be successful in ski-mo races. But it was always the same. We went to Andorra for the World Cup,  always Italy for the World Cup. Every two years was a World Championship and I felt a bit tired of always doing the same. So the project was, first of all, for me, but I want to tell the story of Anton Palzer and not try to imitate and be like Primoz Roglic or someone like this. They also came from different sports, but I want to tell the story of me and to show the people if you are bold, if you're fearless, if you work hard for your dreams, you can achieve a lot of things in life. And I think when you change the sport, I was 28 years old - so it's not that young - I would say in professional sport, it's a bold step. And yeah, I did it. Now I would say the project: Anton goes Pro Cycling is pretty successful.

From the documentary it looked that like that the team were very, very welcoming. Is that correct?
Yes, definitely. Definitely. It super cool with BORA-hansgrohe because it's a German team and there are a lot of German athletes, also Austrian athletes, I live in Austria. So, I knew a lot of guys and for sure, it's easier to talk in your mother language. It's was a really warm welcome for me. From the first meet meeting I had a super good welcome into the team. The beginning of my new story in life was quite easy from the start. I'm not sure if I joined another team, a British team perhaps, that it would not be so easy because, with the language, it's quite difficult to show the people that you are real. You can talk, but it's not always easy to show your real self. In this team, it was quite easy.

What do you enjoy the most about being a professional road cyclist?
I would say the professional feel in the team. It's not only the riders who are be part of the team, it's also the staff. We have around 100 guys in this team who work super, super hard to give us the best opportunity to race well and that's pretty cool. I had eight years in ski mountaineering and there is also a federation, but it’s not professional like in pro cycling. The dream of pro cycling was to do it. I was tired of ski mountaineering but I also said I need a really, really professional place to be in to improve myself to be a better athlete - that's why I enjoy a lot in this team. It starts with the coaches, it's super professional training, then we have guys who only look after the nutrition for us. We have physiotherapists, we have the best mechanics. It’s a really professional team that we are part of and that's super-cool for an athlete. I think that the the main goal for an athlete is always to improve, that's, that's pretty cool.

It sounds more like a family than a team?
Definitely yes, for sure. During the races, it's super stressful but I think it's normal. You are on the limit, the other guys are on the limit. Sometimes it's a bit quiet in the team bus but it really feels like a family. It's super important that it feels like a family because you spend so much time on the road with this team - something like 300 days a year. And when you feel comfortable there, you're a much better athlete.

What do you think the team can achieve at La Vuelta this year?
I am sure they can fight for the victory. BORA-hansgrohe is now a completely different team to last year. The main goal is the GC and we have maybe the best GC riders in the world with Jai Hindley, with Wilco Kelderman, with Sergio Higuita - they showed already that they are one of the best riders. Not only with Jai winning the Giro, Sergio won Catalunya, he was second in the Tour de Suisse, he is super, super strong. I think with the lineup like in the Giro, we really can fight for the victory, I'm sure.

What are your future ambitions as a professional road cyclist? What are your personal ambitions?
Well for sure my main goal is to be successful again, like in ski mountaineering races, or in running races. I think that's in the DNA of, of an athlete to win races. In cycling, it's quite difficult, I would say. But my first main goal is to be a really, really good climbing helper for the real GC guys, to support the real GC guys in the big mountains. The next dream is to win races again, for sure. But I know it will take some time. It's 14 months ago that I started this project and it took some time to be successful again. But it's a dream and I think you need dreams to be motivated for training, for races.

Then there's also a dream - I want to get to do the Giro d'Italia, it's my favourite race. For sure, the Tour de France is the biggest race in the world. But I have so many friends in Italy and I know a lot of nice places there and it would be super nice to do it.

Breaking The Cycle, starring Anton Palzer, is available to watch on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms from Monday 15 August, and premieres on Eurosport 1 and discovery+* from 21:00 CEST on Monday.