National youth screening in Weißenfels 2022
On the second and third of July, the 6th classification for the German Championships in the U15 and U17 classes took place as part of the Weißenfels MTB event.
It was still raining cats and dogs when we arrived on Friday, but fortunately the weather improved towards the evening so that the riders were able to complete their first lap of the race course without getting themselves and their equipment soaked.
On Saturday, the technical day was on the programme in perfect weather. Six exercises from the BDR catalogue had to be mastered, which were only announced that morning. Points were awarded for each of the six exercises according to the level of difficulty. The athletes therefore had to reflect on their technical skills in order to score as many points as possible. All points from the six assessments were added together at the end to determine the rankings. The rankings were then used to determine the starting line-up for the XCO race the following day. In the event of a tie between athletes, the measured time taken to complete the exercises was taken into account in order to achieve a difference in the ranking.
Sunday was then all about the cross-country race. Race day, as they say. The course, which offered hardly any opportunities for overtaking, was now dry as dust again. The heat also sapped a lot of energy, meaning that some riders were unfortunately forced to give up.
Here are the reports from our drivers:
Race report by Elias Hückmann, U15
Saturday, technology:
On Saturday, the programme included the skills course, which consisted of two zones. I started my first course in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I made a careless mistake and lost valuable points. But that motivated me for the second course. So I started the course and managed the first half as hoped, but on the second half I slipped off an obstacle with my rear wheel and lost points again. I was unhappy and couldn't secure a good starting position for the following XCO race.
Sunday, XCO:
I started the race from 19th place. In the start loop, however, I was able to quickly move up towards the leading group. That put me in a good position for the next three laps. Relieved about this situation, I quickly found my rhythm.
Lap after lap, I was able to pull away with Jonas Schweizer. In the end it came down to a sprint to the finish. I had to brake slightly because of a tree on the last bend. Unfortunately, I lost the final sprint to Jonas Schweizer.
Nevertheless, I was satisfied with my performance as I didn't have full power due to a slight cold. Congratulations to Jonas Schweizer.
Race report by Paulina Lange, U17
Saturday, technology:
The judging consisted of two courses. Unfortunately, I messed up the bunny hop on the first course, but otherwise scored full points. We changed pedals before the second course. This time I scored full points and finished in 5th place.
Sunday, XCO:
After a very good start, I set off on the first lap with a group of four after the start loop. Despite the very hot and dusty conditions, I coped very well with the track. After the first lap, there were only three of us left and we were in contention for a podium place. The last lap was another tough one with lots of small, steep hills. On the last long climb before the feed zone, the two other girls attacked and I didn't have enough power to keep up with them. So it was a rather ungrateful but satisfying fourth place after a good race. The podium is within sight and I'm hungry for more!
Race report by Lucie Hückmann, U17
On Saturday, I scored almost all the points in the first section of the technical course. Unfortunately, I made some careless mistakes in the second section, which is why I only came seventh.
On Sunday, I had to start the XCO from the second row, but I was able to move up to second position straight away. What happened to me then was almost like winning the lottery. First I lost my water bottle, which I didn't realise, then a big fly flew down my throat and I couldn't get it out due to a lack of water. At the following feed zone, I also reached past the water bottle that was handed to me. All in all, I didn't get enough air for too long and therefore fell quite far behind. At the next feed zone, I was finally able to flush the fly away. I then gave everything I had to get back to the front. In the end, I was able to make up a few places. However, it was only enough for ninth place. What bad luck!
Race report from Dennis Krimmel, U17
Saturday, technology:
Last weekend we travelled far north to Weißenfels again. When we arrived, I inspected the route. It was already very familiar to me from previous years and I knew the key sections relatively well. The next morning, the skills course was set up, which mainly tested my balance on the bike. As I was the overall leader, I was the last of around 45 athletes to start. Timo Brandl started ahead of me and took all the points with a new best time. That's when I realised exactly who and what I had to beat. I set off and improved my best time by another second. At that moment, my nervousness was slightly reduced because I knew in black and white that I could win the thing today. Nevertheless, everything was at stake with the second course, where I could lose everything again. The second course was about an hour later and again I set the fastest time with a two-second lead and all the points. I was super happy that I was able to secure another victory in the national junior classification.
Sunday, XCO:
My legs had been heavy all week before the race. But that didn't worry me until the start. Especially after my victory the day before, I was confident that things wouldn't go too badly. The preparations for the race went as usual.
The pace was very fast right from the start and I stayed in the top five. I had the feeling that everyone was going crazy because there were a lot of risky overtaking manoeuvres where it didn't really need to be. Two riders got stuck on the grass and I was lucky to get past unscathed. On the second lap I realised that something was wrong with my body. I couldn't put the usual wattage on the pedals. There was no feeling of fatigue and somehow I couldn't go any faster. More and more riders overtook me. At the finish, many came up to me and said it was because of the heat. I replied that I had won the last sighting when it was even warmer. In the end, I went home with the saying "after every low comes a high". I will now concentrate on the race in Wombach.
Race report from Max Ebrecht, U17
After a few stressful weeks at school, I was really looking forward to the race weekend in Weißenfels. It's a track that I did well on in my younger years and that suits me. But somehow I wasn't able to build up the concentration for the race during the preparation. The result is a pitch-black weekend.
No points, but a pretty damaged body and a broken frame. The next few weeks will now be all about repairing my body, mind and equipment. I hope to be fit again by the European Championships in Capriasca so that I can support my team.
BIKE Junior Team placings at the BNS 2022 in Weißenfels:
Technical module on Saturday:
- 19th place - Elias Hückmann, U15 m
- 5th place - Paulina Lange, U17 w
- 7th place - Lucie Hückmann, U17 w
- 1st place - Dennis Krimmel, U 17 m
- 47th place - Max Ebrecht, U17 m
XCO on Sunday:
- 2nd place - Elias Hückmann, U15 m
- 4th place - Paulina Lange, U17 w
- 9th place - Lucie Hückmann, U17 w
- 18th place - Dennis Krimmel, U 17 m
- DNF - Max Ebrecht, U17 m (crash/defect)
