The outgoing German champion Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) experienced a rather restrained start at the Cyclocross-DM in Döhlau near Hof. With Michael Schweizer and Ole Quast (both Stevens), the two winners of the Germany Cup went off-road, closely followed by Christoph Pfingsten (De Rijke), Sascha Weber (Veranclassic-Doltcini) and Marcel Meisen (Kwadroh-Stannah). Only behind did the Kleinmachnower take the first corner. But it didn't take long for clarity to prevail in the field.
In the second lap, Walsleben and Meisen broke the field, but later Weber caught up. The three of them shaped the course of the race until Walsleben finally decided to flee to the front.
After almost half an hour of racing, he attacked on one of the few technical sections of the track and brought about the preliminary decision. Meisen and Weber, who was in a good mood, tried to keep up behind him, but couldn't stand up to the old and new German champions.
On the last laps, Meisen finally broke away from his companion and crossed the finish line 1:14 minutes behind the confident Walsleben, who also underlined in the DM why he is currently one of the world's best in his profession. Weber secured third place. Fourth and fifth place went to Markus Schulte-Lünzum (Focus XC) and Pfingsten.
While tits in aim of one "not entirely error-free" race, but was satisfied with second place, the now five-time German champion Walsleben was even happier about his victory: "It's nice that I was able to defend the title", he said and emphasized that he would also like to do one or two cyclocross races in Germany in the coming season to present the jersey.
In the women's race, the big favorite started from the second row, but unlike Walsleben, she had more luck with her race start. "At the beginning I hoped that the rider in front of me would be able to pedal well and then I was really happy when it started really well.", said Hanka Kupfernagel (Maxx-Solar) after a race, which she dominated from the start. Already at the end of the first round she had put her cards on the table, probably also to keep one of her toughest competitors at bay.
Outgoing champion Trixi Worrack (Specialized-lululemon) crashed on the first turn and lost valuable time as a result. Because while the four-time cyclocross world champion Kupfernagel made her way through the terrain alone, Worrack desperately tried to make contact with the podium places. Elisabeth Brandau (EBE-Racing), scarred by the race, secured second place ahead of Germany Cup winner Lisa Heckmann (Stevens), who, like Worrack, had a bad start.
//Result men
1. Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) 01:03:26
2. Marcel Meisen (Kwadroh-Stannah) 01:04:41
3. Sascha Weber (Veranclassic-Doltcini) 01:05:17
4. Markus Schulte-Lünzum (Focus XC) 01:06:00
5. Christoph Whitsun (De Rijke) 01:06:45
//Result women
1. Hanka Kupfernagel (Maxx Solar)
2. Elisabeth Brandau (Ebe Racing)
3. Lisa Heckman (Stevens)
4. Trixi Worrack (Specialized-lululemon)
5. Jessica Lambracht (Stevens-1a)