On May 1st, TEAM GREEN'N FIT started at the traditional race in Frankfurt. On Labor Day, too, the team showed an excellent performance with the men's victory on the 70-kilometer distance and the women's victory on the 104-kilometer lap. In addition, Manuela Freund was able to defend the overall lead in the German Cycling Cup with her victory.
In the personal race reports, Andreas Jung describes his victory over the short distance, but unfortunately Mathias Maxa did not have such a good day.
Short distance, 70 kilometers
When I picked up my race packet, I also received a special print supplement from the regional newspaper, which I then leafed through over dinner. Among other things, it listed all the winners of the May 1st race – formerly known as the Henninger Turm, as it's still sometimes called today. Almost all the well-known names and former cycling greats were there: Junkermann, Merckx, Braun, Anderson, Ludwig, Zabel, and many more appeared. I, too, had competed in the Henninger race before – during my youth and junior days. That was a long time ago, but it remains a fond memory, not only because we were successful, but also because it was a fantastic, well-organized race with a challenging course and a unique atmosphere.
Well, a good 25 years later (unbelievable, right?) I was back at the starting line at the Henninger race , just like the last three years! Not as nervous as before – you do gain a bit of composure over the years – but well prepared, with top-notch equipment from BMC, SRAM, and DT Swiss. Plus, after my second-place finish last year, I was motivated to get back on the podium for my new team, GREEN'N FIT. I quickly grabbed a Squeezy gel, and Felix and I set off early in the morning from Eschborn, unfortunately accompanied by a few raindrops that also caused some crashes. With our GREEN'N FIT duo, we were able to stay at the front for the entire race and counter the attacks from the larger teams. Especially in downtown Frankfurt, it was crucial to be at the front to maintain our chances, given the numerous and sometimes very slippery corners, road narrowings, and other challenges.
There was a mass sprint of the field, which was then quite long due to another fall on the wet road 2000 meters before the finish line. Turning onto the finish line in 5th position, having long since chained the 11th, I was able to start 250 meters from the finish line and win ahead of Dirk Chemnitz from Team Moskovskaya. Felix came in my tow on the very good 5th place.
Unfortunately, the organizer has still not learned from previous years how to create correct placement results in a timely manner. Almost four hours passed after the finish line until the award ceremony! That's just not acceptable to everyone involved. The low spectator presence at the award ceremony reflects this. Overall, the routing and protection was better than in previous years, although there are still no protections on the numerous traffic islands. Here the organizer is welcome to take an example from the organization of Rund um Köln.
Conclusion: It's still great fun, even after all these years - with some longer breaks. We have a great team and very good support.
Long distance, 104 kilometers
I traveled with Tim the evening before to pick up the starting documents in peace and to get the important carbohydrates for the race at the pasta buffet. After the beautiful BMC SLR01 was prepared, the start number was attached and the supplies from Squeezy and GREEN'N FIT were ready.
Actually, the race day started well after a restful night. In the Best Western Hotel, right at the start and finish, I strengthened myself for the 104-kilometer race with a great breakfast. The weather seemed to hold up too. Shortly before the start, a quick photo was taken with our leading woman, Manuela Freund, and then it was off to the track.
As usual, the Merkur Druck, Strassacker and Bürstner Dümo teams set the pace for the first 30 kilometers to the large Feldberg. I felt pretty good right up to the climb and had planned to ride over the crest with the first group. But about halfway up the climb I had to admit that the pace at the front was a bit too fast for me. I joined the chasing group. The descent and the following part of the route were quite wet and it rained a little. Since riding downhill in the wet is not really my thing, I had to let my group go. But for me it was the right decision, because there were always falls on the fast descents.
Nevertheless, the organizer has to be commended for securing the route on the long route. All danger zones were displayed beforehand and there were no other problems with the routing. However, with 20 kilometers to go, the race was over for me when I collided with another rider and got an eight in my front wheel and a spoke almost came out. After a few minutes at the edge of the road, I had my bike halfway ready to ride again, so that I was able to ride the last few kilometers to the finish line with more difficulty and didn't have to wait for the sweeper. Thanks again to DT Swiss for the really great and stable wheels. Luckily, the group with Manuela Freund came by shortly afterwards and I was able to participate a little in the management work. All in all, I'm disappointed with the way the race went because I didn't reach the top 100, but I'm still happy to be back at the finish line safe and sound. Here's to something new in Leipzig.
