Representing your country in your own sport will always be something special for everyone. This was also the case for Max and Paulina, who were called up to the national squad for the Junior Series in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic on 25 May. Max put in an outstanding performance despite a cold and was the sixth best German (out of 14) on the day. Paulina was less satisfied with her performance, although she also had good phases in the race and crossed the finish line as the fourth best German (out of six). Both are now more than motivated for the German Championships in Obergessertshausen.
Race report Max Ebrecht
Route
The course was just like the one you see on TV: there were long and steep climbs over roots and technical descents that look harder on TV than they actually are. After the rain on Friday, the course was still damp when we started at 8am on Saturday morning. This was particularly evident on the climbs, which became quite technical (e.g. the Shimano Expert Climb). All in all, the World Cup course was the coolest course I've ever ridden. It was a lot of fun both downhill and uphill.
Race
I was very excited about my race, as I had already noticed during the track training that I was a little under the weather (cold). This was confirmed even more during the warm-up and I was already expecting that I would probably be taken out earlier. That's why I was completely surprised after the start that things went better after all (after initial starting problems such as traffic jams and crashes in front of me, which pushed me to the back of the field of 135 riders).
On the first lap, I was able to overtake more and more people on the climbs, despite having a sore throat and breathing problems. Over the next few laps, I was able to ride further and further forwards and was increasingly surprised that I was doing so well. On the penultimate lap, a chain drop in the dual climb unfortunately cost me a lot of time and places. As a result, I was one of the last riders not to be taken out by the 80% rule going into the final lap. I was able to overtake a few more riders on this lap and ended up in 67th place.
Overall, I'm happy with my race as I was technically good and hardly made any mistakes. I'm extremely surprised at how well I did in the race despite the cold and the course was just so much fun. I'm looking forward to my next race in Dornbirn next weekend and to my first highlight of the season, the German MTB Championships in Obergessertshausen.
Race report Paulina Lange
Last weekend I travelled to Nove Mesto for the Junior Series. I was really looking forward to it and I really enjoyed the course. The technical descents suited me very well and the uphills were really tough.
My start was on Sunday morning at 8.30am. I started from one of the back rows of the starting field of almost 90 girls, but I got off to a good start and was able to move up a few positions straight away. However, after the start loop I found myself further back again as I couldn't get any power on the pedals. The start loop and the first full lap were very tough for me, but I kept pushing and was able to gradually make up positions on the following laps.
The train to the front had long since departed and it was an extremely tough race for me. I fought my way through the race and finished very disappointed and sad in 42nd place. However, the experience was indescribable and I am more than motivated to show my real performance at the German Championships.
