German champions defend title in Obergessertshausen

Max Fuchs

· 26.10.2020

Photo: Max Fuchs

German champions defend title in Obergessertshausen

Elisabeth Brandau and Maximilian Brandl defend their titles at the spectacular mud battle of the Cross-Country-DM in Obergessertshausen.

Add bookmark

What a finale! The race track of the German championship in Obergessertshausen resembles a wild boar enclosure. Heavy rainfall turned Georg Egger's home track into a mud bath overnight. Many sections of the forest course were therefore unrideable and bike defects were inevitable. Technical problems and even crashes forced many participants out of the race early on. In the end, however, the favourites triumphed.

Photo: Max Fuchs Partly more of a cross-country race than a bike race. Some sections of the course were not rideable and the athletes had to run.

Tough coronavirus restrictions made staging the DM a feat of strength for everyone involved, but organisers and starters alike braved the adversity. This rider was wearing the right socks: Fuck Corona!

At times, the races were more reminiscent of Tough Guy runs than mountain bike races. Even the Chicken Way, which led around the dangerous root descent, became a slippery track.

The race route led across the fields and through the Egger family's private forest. Son Georg was one of the favourites. "Always Fullgaz, Georg", flags cheered him on in the otherwise spectator-free start/finish area.

Georg Egger had hoped for home advantage, but the mud dashed his hopes to some extent. The slippery course was unpredictable. Georg puts on mud tyres for more grip.

An absurd picture: this rider lost grip so quickly that he still had his hands on the handlebars as he lay there like a blown-up cardboard cut-out.

20 Images

Photo: Henri Lesewitz

Photo: BIKE Magazin Get BIKE 1/2021 with the DM report and the focus on "Biking in winter". Order the latest BIKE for free delivery to your home , or select the digital edition in the BIKE app for your Apple-iOS- or Android device . You can read BIKE by subscription at a particularly favourable price and conveniently.

Start-to-finish victory for the defending champion

In the women's race, defending champion Elisabeth Brandau was best able to cope with the tough conditions. Brandau took the lead from the very first lap and extended her lead lap by lap. After four laps and a race time of 1:34:27 hours, Brandau secured the title. Nadine Rieder, who was the 18th best German at the World Championships in Leogang, crossed the finish line 3:48 minutes later. Antonia Daubermann finished in third place.

Photo: Max Fuchs Old and new German champion: Elisabeth Brandau dominated the women's race.

Photo: Screenshot The results of the women's elite cross-country championships 2020.

How do you like this article?

The DM course in Obergessertshausen turned into a muddy track, especially the sections in the forest.

Elisabeth Brandau on the way to her next German championship title.

The mud was also extremely hard on the material. Time and again during the race, riders were seen scraping the viscous sludge off the frame or drivetrain.

Nadine Rieder raced a strong double World Cup in Nove Mesto, finished 19th at the World Championships and won silver at the German Championships.

Antonia Daubermann fought her way to third place.

13 Images

Photo: Max Fuchs

Maximilian Brandl beats German cross-country champion

Cyclocross riders are used to carrying their bikes through ankle-deep mud in races. The tension was correspondingly high when the reigning German cyclocross champion Marcel Meisen battled for the title with the best German cross-country riders in Obergessertshausen. And lo and behold, the rider from Team Alpecin Fenix took the lead after the first lap. From this point onwards, the mud expert consistently completed his laps. None of the cross-country riders were able to follow him. His lead grew to 20 seconds by the fourth of five laps. But after a stutz on the second lap, defending champion Maximilian Brandl (Lexware) had also found his rhythm again. With the fastest lap time on lap four, Brandl was able to close the gap to Meisen and even took the lead. After the final lap, Brandl crossed the finish line 34 seconds ahead of Meisen. Manuel Fumic finished in third place, 1:24 minutes behind.

Cross specialist Marcel Meisen from Alpecin Fenix showed at the start of the race that he can cope perfectly with such conditions.

Photo: Max Fuchs Cross specialist Marcel Meisen from Alpecin Fenix showed at the start of the race that he can cope perfectly with such conditions.

Manuel Fumic was still missing from the World Championships in Leogang. Now he is back with third place at the DM. Next goal: the Cape Epic in spring 2021 alongside Henrique Avancini.

Photo: Max Fuchs Manuel Fumic was still missing from the World Championships in Leogang. Now he is back with third place at the DM. Next goal: the Cape Epic in spring 2021 alongside Henrique Avancini.

The champion's jersey remains on Max Brandl's shoulders for another year. DM silver goes to Marcel Meisen (left), third place to Manuel

Photo: Max Fuchs The champion's jersey remains on Max Brandl's shoulders for another year. DM silver goes to Marcel Meisen (left), third place to Manuel

Photo: Screenshot The results of the men's elite cross-country championships 2020.

Results U23 and U19 classes

U23 women:
1st Nina Benz
2nd Lia Schrievers
3. Emma Blömeke

U23 Men:
1. David List
2nd Niklas Schehl
3. Silas Graf

Juniors U19:
1. Luisa Daubermann
2nd Sina van Thiel
3rd Finja Lipp

Juniors U19:
1. Lennart Krayer
2nd Ben Schweizer
3rd Fabian Eder

Max Fuchs

Editor

Max Fuchs hat seine ersten Mountainbike-Kilometer bereits mit drei Jahren gesammelt. Zunächst Hobby-Rennfahrer und Worldcup-Fotograf im Cross-Country-Zirkus, jetzt Testredakteur und Fotograf bei BIKE. Sein Herz schlägt für Enduros und abfahrtsstarke Trailbikes – gern auch mit Motor. Bei der Streckenwahl gilt: je steiler und technischer, desto besser.

Home

German champions defend title in Obergessertshausen

Start-to-finish victory for the defending champion

Maximilian Brandl beats German cross-country champion

Results U23 and U19 classes

Max Fuchs

Most read in category Events