The Sparkassen Neuseen Classics – Around the Brown Coal Mine – took place on Sunday, marking the fourth round of the GCC series. We traveled in high spirits to the hometown of our sports director and the headquarters of Rothaì Sports.
Since the course was almost completely changed, we used the arrival day on Saturday to explore the route and so, after dividing up the rooms and seeing each other again, we went to the new route. After we had driven a few kilometers of the new route and, above all, sufficiently inspected the new finish line, it was time for the starting documents
pick up. Afterwards there were still plenty of new sponsor goodies from Lawi and Multipower, so that after the dirty rainy races of the last few weeks we were able to start again with bright white socks and continue to be supplied with sufficient gels and bars during the races.
In the evening, true to the ritual of the last races, we went to the Italian. The motto: Ice cream always works was then checked for accuracy and so there was a small meal for the march back to the hotel. Once there, the race briefing by our coach Ronny Freiesleben was on the agenda. He gave us a few more important tips
Route that he knows pretty well from the training and has already prepared us for the announced wind conditions. Shortly thereafter we all fell into bed tired.
At 6:30 a.m. the alarm clock rang again and we all met for breakfast together. Then everyone prepared individually for the race - the essential parts: getting dressed, packing food and adjusting the last little things on the bike and off we went towards the start. We drove the last 5 kilometers before the finish one last time and started the race at 9:25 a.m. sharp.
The first kilometers through the city of Leipzig were very quiet. The wind outside of the city seemed to have had a lasting effect on the drivers and so it was quick but orderly out of Leipzig. As so often, we stayed at the front of the field to avoid falls. The first increase in speed came after almost 15 kilometers and our boys played a key role in that.
The field chased long drawn out over smaller streets and the hunt for the grand prize of the Neuseen Classics started so slowly now. This was followed by several attacks and after almost 30 kilometers the first group of five riders formed, in which we were well represented with Manfred and myself. However, not all teams were happy with it and so the group continued to grow over the following kilometers and Friedrich also came up with it. The differences in performance and interests within the group were quite large. That's why things never really went smoothly in the lead, so that some time later other drivers were able to catch up. To our advantage, because Bernd and Till also took advantage of this opportunity. With now five riders in the 23-man lead group, we were able to complete the last 30 kilometers
control the group very well until the goal.
There were still isolated attacks, but they were all quickly neutralized. On the last few kilometers, our two experienced riders, Bernd and Manfred, set such a high pace that no further attacks were possible and we had enough rest to find our positions. 2000 meters before the finish, Friedrich and I lined up in third and fourth place and thus secured a very good starting position for the sprint. Friedrich only narrowly lost this to Marek Bosniatzki. Second place was booked. Daniel was able to win the sprint of the peloton that followed.
A windy day came to an end on which we tried a lot and always had a say in the race. In the end, unfortunately, we only managed second place in the team classification, but that doesn't make us any less proud. At this point I would like to congratulate the Bürstner-Dümo team on the strong team performance and their day's success.
Finally, a big thank you again to our sponsors for the fabulous material, which has not let us down so far, and the great on-site support from Rothaí Sports and the supervisors who traveled with us.
We see and hear us in Hockenheim,
Stefan.