A year ago, Stefan Bötticher from Chemnitz shouted his joy at winning the sprint title at the World Championships in Minsk. He rounded off the extremely remarkable result of the German team, which was the most successful of all teams present at the end of the title fights.
Today the title fights of 2014 begin in Colombia. It remains to be seen whether Bötticher, Maximilian Levy, Robert Förstemann, René Enders, Kristina Vogel, Miriam Welte and Co. will be as successful as last year.
In any case, the athletes were successful in their preparation. Above all, the team sprinters presented themselves in excellent condition. At the third World Cup of the season, they set a new world record. No wonder that Cali relies on the experienced Olympic trio Enders, Levy and Förstemann. Bötticher, who took the place of the Gera sprinter last year and was able to celebrate the world championship title in Minsk, was injured for a long time during the season and was therefore unable to gain any racing practice. But he definitely wants to defend his title in the sprint. The biggest competition is likely to come from within their own ranks.
The German team can also have legitimate hopes for women. The team sprint Olympic champions Vogel and Welte are undefeated so far this season. Also in the individual competitions Sprint and Keirin, the awarding of medals should only go to Vogel.
Endurance athletes, on the other hand, have less of a chance of getting on the podium. With their third place at the Madison in Minsk, Henning Bommel and Theo Reinhardt proved that they shouldn't be written off.
So it's going to be exciting. All competitions can be followed online via live stream. The overview is here.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5