BIKE Junior Team: Firm places on the podium at the national young talent scouting event

After a very successful premiere this season in Hausach, the BIKE Junior Team was able to surpass its performance in Gedern. Four of the young athletes took part in the race - in the cross country they took 1st, 2nd (2x) and 3rd place - a fantastic result. Here is the report of the four bikers.

Race report Paulina Lange

I was finally heading to Gedern for the national junior classification, which I was really looking forward to because the course is one of my favourites. The technical course was scheduled for Saturday morning. I messed up the first section straight away with an unnecessary mistake, which annoyed me so much, because the rest worked really well and I would otherwise have had a chance of a good placing. Unfortunately, that only meant 17th place and the third row of the grid for Sunday.

I got off to a very good start in the race on Sunday, which was also very important because we girls didn't have a starting loop. We went straight into the narrow sections in the forest. It was very difficult to overtake there, but I was able to make up a lot of places at the front and was already in 5th place at the first feed zone. However, I had already lost the connection to the front. My ambition got the better of me and I wanted to show a good performance on my favourite course. I was leading a group of three for 3rd place and then unfortunately had a crash.

I felt very good and immediately took the lead again to gain further ground. On the last lap, another rider went on the attack and I had trouble following. However, I was able to close the gap again at the back of the course and take the lead. It was a tight neck-and-neck race right up to the last few metres, which I was fortunate enough to win in the final sprint and finally finish on the podium again.

With 3rd place I was very satisfied after not having the optimal conditions from the previous day. The top two places were not far ahead either. Now it's time to train well and recharge my batteries for Wombach!

Race report Elias Hückmann

I was really looking forward to the race weekend in Gedern because, in my opinion, it is one of the best tracks in the national junior classification. I had my technical competition on Saturday morning. I didn't really enjoy it, but I still had to give it my all as it was essential for the starting grid for the following day. So I watched all the tricks and lines on the course together with Max Ebrecht. My goal for the course was simply to stay calm and not make any careless mistakes.

Unfortunately, two small mistakes crept into my run, which I wasn't happy with. In the end, I only managed 28th place, which meant that I had to start from the centre for the following XCO race day. Due to the start loop, however, this didn't turn out to be quite so bad. So after my technical course, I did a track check on the XCO circuit and prepared myself for the upcoming race.

The starting gun sounded at 11.15am on Sunday and I quickly found the rear wheel of my team-mate Max Ebrecht, who was starting in front of me, so that we were able to join the leading group in the "train". A total of six riders found themselves at the front.

I made the decisive attack on the only long climb of the course. I managed to open up a small gap here and hold on for the following laps. I crossed the finish line overjoyed as Winner. All in all, it was an exciting weekend with lots of racing action.

Race report Max Ebrecht

The second race of the national junior classification was this weekend in Gedern, as always at the BNWS there is a pre-competition and a main race. The pre-competition this time was my non-favourite discipline "Trail", last year it didn't go well at all. Nevertheless, I approached the trail with confidence because it was (probably) going to be my last trail and the parkour didn't look too difficult. Completely unexpectedly for me, I ended up in 15th place, completing all the obstacles I had set myself and achieving a score of 8 out of a possible 11 points. I was therefore able to start from the third row on Sunday.

On Sunday, after the trail, I went into the XCO race, one of my favourite courses, with a lot of confidence and joy - this time even in dry conditions. We had to ride three big laps and a start loop, the course was grippy and dry. The course is not that technical and has two longer but flat meadow climbs and short descents. So it was a perfect track for me.

So I started the race from the third row of the grid and was able to work my way up to around 6th place in the start loop. I rode there until shortly before the end of the first lap with my team-mate Elias, who then launched an attack on the last climb, which I couldn't follow because I had a small gap to the leading group. However, I was able to close this gap and a little later I was able to mount an attack myself and break away. I was in second place and rode with a rival until halfway through the second lap, when I was finally able to break away in another attack. I was then able to take the second place safely through the last lap and finished about 20 seconds behind my team-mate Elias. I'm super happy with my whole weekend and I'm already looking forward to my next race in Wombach.

Race report Nico Brandl

At the weekend, the second race of the national junior classification took place in Gedern, which is one of my favourite races. On Saturday, I had to complete a technical course consisting of several stages. Unfortunately, I made too many mistakes and only finished 38th in the end.

I was a little frustrated about this, but I started the race from this starting position on Sunday with a lot of ambition. I immediately fought my way up to 9th place in the start loop and was able to overtake other riders on the first lap. In the end, I managed to finish 2nd place I even made it onto the podium. I am very happy about this result.

Report Lucie Hückmann

I was competing in the MTB Bundesliga in the U19 category. Last year, I won here in the U17 category. I went to the start line full of motivation. Unfortunately, I didn't get up to speed during the whole race. I was never able to call up my performance. When I finished 8th. That really annoys me. Keep on fighting...!