UEC MTB Youth European Championships: BIKE Junior Team is best German team
BIKE Junior Team
· 23.08.2024
The BIKE Junior Team was represented at the UEC Youth European Championships in Sweden with a U15 and a U17 team. Each team consisted of one female athlete and two male athletes and was supported by guest riders.
In the U15 category, our rider Benny Huber was supported by Clara Hirsch and David Schempp as guest riders in the team. In the U17 category, the team of Elias Hückmann and Nico Brandl was joined by guest rider Adina Daubner. The European Youth Championships were a competition of superlatives. There were 330 athletes in the U15 class and 445 athletes in the U17 class from a total of 28 nations.
BIKE Juniorteam shines with a great team performance
The competitions started on Tuesday with the time trial, followed by the team relay on Wednesday. The short track competitions followed on Thursday. These competitions formed the starting line-up for the XCO competitions on Saturday and Sunday.
The BIKE Junior Team shone with a great team performance and was the best German team. Unfortunately, Benny just missed out on a medal. Elias surprised everyone with a silver medal in the Shorttack, but unfortunately, the XCO was prevented from winning another medal due to a defect. Nico fought his way through the week and showed remarkable performances despite a difficult season.
MTB Youth EM: The reports of the BIKE Junior Team
Race report Elias Hückmann
My highlight of the season was the European Championships in Sweden. I travelled there as the defending XCO champion and with great anticipation. Right from the first track check, I realised how the terrain on the competition course suited me. The circuit was characterised by long and steep climbs combined with technical yet fast descents. I had a total of four competitions to tackle, as the European Youth Championships always consist of a time trial, relay race, short track and finally the Olympic cross country format (XCO).
Tuesday, 5pm, was my start time for the time trial. I wanted to prove to myself straight away what I was made of. This was very important to me, as I had to miss out on some training intensities in the last few weeks of preparation due to illness. The short sprint lap (approx. 2 minutes) also suited me. I gave it my all, focussed and was able to finish 15th. As the best German, I was able to tick off the first competition with satisfaction.
The relay race on Wednesday is very important because the lap time of the individual riders has a big impact on the starting position for the XCO race. So I tried to make up time everywhere. I managed this very well; in the end I had the second-fastest lap of all the participants in this event. Now I knew that I would have a chance of winning the XCO title despite my infection two weeks earlier. This made me feel relieved.
I wanted to prove straight away what I was made of. I'm more than satisfied with my performance. - Elias Hückmann
I really enjoyed the short track on Thursday; my mindset before the start was exactly how I wanted it to be. After the start, I quickly found myself in the leading group of the race. After an attack 3 minutes before the finish, I was in second place. The leading Frenchman had a small gap on me. Nevertheless, two other riders "stuck" to my rear wheel until the finishing straight; I was the first to take the final bend and sprinted with all my might towards the finishing arch. It was enough - now I can call myself "Vice European Champion" in short track! This unexpected title makes me very happy and gives me great confidence for my upcoming XCO race.
It rained on Friday and Saturday and the new track conditions were sobering for me, as the long, hard and fast lap turned into a lap on which you "slide around" and barely make any progress. This kind of thing doesn't suit me, as experience has shown that I don't find a "flow" here and therefore don't have a high "race pace". Nevertheless, I focussed because I had trained hard for this day. What's more, every rider has to cope with these miserable conditions. I started the race well from the front row. After the first 10 minutes of the race, I pulled away from the chasing pack. Now this small gap grew to around 30 seconds. As the race drew to a close, my pursuer came closer and closer. So we went wheel to wheel on the last lap.
My plan now was to attack on the last tough climb, hoping to open up a gap. But then I got a flat tyre straight away. I stayed calm because the way to the tech zone wasn't far. When I finally arrived in the tech zone, everything was ready to change my rear wheel. However, the mud caused a lot of problems, so it was a very slow change and I lost a lot of time. So the mission to defend the title had become unattainable for me. I crossed the finish line in fifth place. I will never forget that day. Unfortunately, I had to leave Sweden full of disappointment and frustration. Overall, I enjoyed the event and I'm more than satisfied with my performance.
Now I'm full of motivation as I start training for the last part of the racing season.
Race report Nico Brandl
I travelled to the European Youth Championships in Huskvarna with mixed feelings. After finishing runner-up last year and unfortunately having a training backlog this year due to illness, I didn't know what to expect, as I had also changed age groups and the races were therefore much longer. My entire focus was therefore on the team relay and the short track.
The European Championships consisted of four competitions: Time Trial, Team Relay, Short Track and XCO races. The course in Sweden was technically very demanding, which suited me, but there were also very long, steep climbs, some of which were on ski slopes.
The competitions began on Tuesday with the individual time trial. I knew that the short, tough course suited me. I managed to set a good time and came 24th out of almost 300 U17 riders. As a result, I qualified for the short track race as one of 45 riders. The time was also very good for the team relay and so we (Elias Hückmann and Adina Daubner) were able to start the next day from third position.
On Wednesday, Elias was the start rider, he rode a great lap and handed over to me in second place. After the leading French riders sent a girl, I wanted to overtake her before the descent; unfortunately I wanted too much and got stuck on a stone while overtaking, which caused me to fall. This cost me valuable time, but I didn't give up and was able to hand over to Adina in fourth place. She also rode a very strong race and so we finished a very good fifth out of just over 140 teams.
The technically demanding course suited me. Despite my lack of training, I wanted to give it my all. - Nico Brandl
On Thursday, I started the short track race in 24th place. I felt good, but unfortunately the racing was very tough and I was pushed off the track several times, so I had to keep braking and even came out of the start loop in last place. Now it was time to catch up, but then someone crashed in front of me and I was involved. I lost places again. Although my legs were good, my head wasn't playing ball, so I ended up 39th.
Then the XCO race on Saturday: I had mixed feelings as I knew I was behind in my training and it was a long race. My start from the third row was very good, but then heavy rain set in and made some climbs unrideable in a short space of time, which cost me a lot of energy and initially I was only going backwards. However, I found my feet from the middle of the race and was able to make up a few places. 31st place out of 138 starters and a riding time of over an hour wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, but it was okay.
Race report Benny Huber
Exciting days lie behind me. After an adventurous journey from Rosenheim to the southern part of Lake Vättern/Huskvarna, I still had enough time to train the route in detail and loosen up my tired legs from the long journey. A technically demanding route with lots of very steep uphill sections and crisp descents made for a really challenging course.
This time I had strong support from Clara Hirsch and David Schempp for the team relay. On the first day of the race, a time trial was on the programme. A technically difficult circuit was marked out here. This "qualifying" serves to qualify for the later short track (XCC, only 45 participants) and the team relay. In the Time Trial (TT), I was able to secure a good starting position for the short track in the first row with 8th place. The track was dry, I had chosen the right tyres and was therefore able to tackle it safely and without any major difficulties. For the team relay, we were able to secure a starting position on the 3rd row with nineteenth place.
On the second day of the race there was the team relay with Clara and David. David was able to position himself well after the start and handed over to Clara, who I then took over from. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic on the course, so I didn't always have a clear run. The individual time was important here, which, when added to the time trail time, determined the starting position for the XCO race. In the end, this meant the eleventh-fastest overall time for me and therefore the second row on the grid.
The rain made the races a really muddy and slippery affair. I always tried to keep up and am very happy with my performance.
- Benny Huber
There wasn't much time for regeneration, and it was straight on to the short track. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball from here on, and when it rains in Sweden, it really rains. From here on, the track turned into a very muddy and slippery affair. I've already done a few races in similar conditions this year and can cope with it well. Despite the very fast pace, I was able to show my good starting characteristics at the start and move into third position straight away. As the pace was still extremely high, I unfortunately lost touch with the leader, but I was still able to stay in the leading group.
Unfortunately, I lost my connection to this group on a steep climb and had to continue as a lone fighter. In the end, I was able to secure a really good 5th place; I was very happy with myself and my performance, but I could already feel the first signs of fatigue in my legs. I tried to recover as much as possible in the afternoon.
The XCO race on the fourth day was the highlight of the European Youth Championships. It was still raining heavily and there was also wind. I started from the second row of the grid and got off to a really good start here too, allowing me to break away directly with a leading group. As the conditions had changed so much and the course was very demanding, some elements were closed. Unfortunately, on the second lap I got stuck behind a rider who was slowly riding through a trail. I wasn't able to overtake and lost contact with the leading group at a very high pace, leaving me in fourth position. I wasn't able to catch up and my bike was also affected by all the mud and sludge. The brakes and gears were working with increasing difficulty, so I was very happy to hold on to fourth place. I was really pleased with the result and am very happy with my performance over the whole day.
