This year, the European Championships took place in Tuscany in Il-Ciocco. As always, there was a time trial, a relay race, a short track (the best 45 from the TT) and finally the XCO race.
- The TT track was about one and a half minutes long and not too technical, there were a few bends where you could lose a lot of time.
- The relay lap was the start loop and a shortened lap.
- The short track lap was partly over the shortened normal lap and was only 4 minutes long.
- The XCO circuit consisted of a long climb, which included short flat sections and descents, and a long descent, which was split into two parts. The climbs were partly technical, narrow and partly wide gravel paths with a perfect gradient. The descents had technical passages with rocky descents and also flowy sections with steep bends. A round that was a lot of fun to ride, if you have inspected it carefully.
The Bike Junior Team started with an U 17 team with Paulina Lange, Max Ebrecht and Elias Hückmann. And a team in the U 15 category with Nico Brandl. Emma Leupold and Benjamin Huber joined the team as guest riders.
Race report Nico Brandl
Right at the start of the summer holidays, I, my family and the Bike Junior Team travelled to Il Ciocco in Tuscany for the European Youth Championships. The competition consists of four different disciplines: the individual time trial, the team relay, the short race and the supreme discipline, the actual cross-country race. After seeing the course for the first time on Monday, I realised that it suited me very well. I like short, steep sections with flowing descents.
The race started on Wednesday. The first discipline was the individual time trial, but unfortunately I made a mistake here: I set off too fast, was lifted out and had to get off the clipless pedal. Nevertheless, I didn't let myself be put off, I completed the rest of the race confidently and came 19th out of a total of 267 U15 boys, just 2.6 seconds behind. This meant that I had qualified for the short race, in which only the best 45 are allowed to take part.
The team relay was on the programme on Thursday, with a relay consisting of three riders, two boys and one girl. I was the starting rider from 14th position and did a good job. I was the first to hand over to my team-mate Benjamin Huber with a clear lead. He was able to maintain his lead and was the first to hand over to the final rider, Emma Leudpold. She crossed the finish line in seventh place. We had briefly hoped to make it onto the podium, but are satisfied with 7th place out of 147 teams.
Things didn't go according to plan for me in the short race the next day. I started the race from 19th on the grid. My goal was to give it my all and compete for a medal. This failed very quickly, I kept having to get off my bike and run and push because of riders in front. As I couldn't get through, I decided to slow down in the second of four laps and save my energy for Saturday.
In the last race, the cross country race, I had the honour of starting from first position, as I rode the fastest lap of all the U15s in the team relay. I seized the opportunity and took the lead of the 176-rider field shortly after the start. On the first lap, however, a Swiss rider tried to break away and I couldn't quite keep up with the fast pace. However, I confidently rode my race to the end and didn't let second place slip away from me. I can now call myself European vice-champion U15. That exceeds every expectation I had travelling to Italy. I am very happy about my fantastic performance, but it would never have been possible without the support of my parents, my brother Timo, my coach Vogl Josef and my team, the Bike Junior Team and my sponsors - thank you very much!
Race report Max Ebrecht
TT
My TT didn't go as well as I had hoped. I already realised on the roll that something wasn't right with my legs because my heart rate was far too high for the wattage I was doing. Nevertheless, I went to the start in good spirits and gave it my best shot. After about half a lap, my legs gave out and started to cramp. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach my goal (the first 45) and finished in 90th place.
Season
After a not-so-good TT, I went into the relay with confidence. Our tactic was for Elias to start, Paulina to go second and me last. Unfortunately, Elias crashed at the start and lost places, he handed over to Paulina in 23rd place, who handed over to me in 29th place. At the start I realised that my legs were still not as good and I didn't have as much pressure as usual. I made a mistake and crashed in a bend after the Rockgarden and lost time, which I wanted to make up on the downhill, but I couldn't because I had two slower competitors in front of me on the downhill. Nevertheless, I was able to move up a few places to 22nd. However, the lap time was not what I had hoped for and meant 48th place as my starting position in the XCO.
XCO
As in the other competitions, I realised that I didn't feel as fit as usual. Nevertheless, my goal was to reach the top 10 in the race, which was not so unlikely as I started from 48th place. I was able to work my way forwards in the start loop and was around 20th place. On the next lap I was able to overtake two rivals, but I felt the effects of this at the start of the second lap, which is why I slowly fell back. I realised the whole time that something wasn't going right and my legs were still not so good, so at the end of the second lap I dropped back to 25th place. The next lap went the same way. On the last lap I was able to overtake two riders who started to fight in the heat of the moment on a technical stage. In the end, I only managed a disappointing 38th place. Unfortunately, the whole European Championship didn't go as I had hoped. Congratulations to my team-mates Nico and Elias who were runners-up and European champions.
Race report Paulina Lange
And once again the European Youth Championship in Tuscany is history. The track was already extremely dusty and very dry during the track check. I managed my time trial well without taking too many risks. My 26th place qualified me for the short race. The next day it was time to show what we were made of as a team. Unfortunately, things didn't go as we had hoped. Elias was stopped at the start with a crash and a faulty shoe, and my legs were also very heavy from the previous day. Max also had a crash and so we had to settle for a disappointing 22nd place.
For me, it continued directly on Friday with the XCC, the first time ever for me. With a start from the fourth row, the starting position wasn't perfect. After a lot of walking in the first lap, it was finally enough for 27th place after a tough twenty minutes. The last competition for me was the most important race, the XCO. After a very good start, I was able to work my way forwards bit by bit. My legs were much better than in the relay and so I crossed the finish line in 16th place after a very exciting and hot race. So the week at the European Championships came to an end with huge successes from the boys and a solid race from me.
Race report Elias Hückmann
After a great week with lots of experiences in Maribor (eyof), I went straight on to the European Youth Championships in Italy. Like last year, I was really looking forward to the event, as it is always an exciting week with lots of impressions. After the first track check, I realised that it was a fast and flowing lap, which also had a lot of climbs. I particularly like and enjoy tracks like this.
On Wednesday afternoon, the time trial was on the programme: as expected, I unfortunately didn't have much of a chance of getting into the front of the "sprinters", so unfortunately I didn't finish in the top 45. This meant that the short track two days later was also over for me, as only the best 45 participants were allowed to take part.
So I was fully focussed on the upcoming team relay. I was more than happy with this year's team with my team-mates Paulina and Max, as we are all fast riders. That's why I was hoping for a corresponding position. I was the starting rider. Right at the start there was a mass crash from the front row, which is why I crashed, but I wasn't injured and my bike survived without any problems. However, the fasteners on my right shoe tore off, which is why I was forced to ride with just one shoe. So I had a bad lap full of problems. As a result, the relay team wasn't entirely happy that day.
This was followed by two rest days for me, which lifted my spirits. Sunday was the day of the XCO race. This was my main focus, as it was the only race in which I wanted to "pull something off". My motivation increased on the roll and I started from the second row. After losing a few places at the start due to the hectic start phase, I also lost sight of the leading group. But I couldn't let that get to me, so I gave everything I had to get to the front. Fortunately, after two of five tough laps I had made it. So I tried to recover on the Dutchman's rear wheel.
There were two of us going into our last lap. I attacked on the last long climb and opened up a gap that my opponent was unable to close. So I tried not to crash on the upcoming downhill and at the same time not to let the Dutchman close the gap again. I succeeded and crossed the finish line as the winner and new European champion. At the award ceremony, I was then allowed to put on the gold medal and the "much sought-after" jersey. So I ended the week with a success. All in all, it was a great week with lots of wonderful memories.
