Cycling: 22-year-old Pascal Ackermann (rad-net ROSE Team) won the German U23 championship this Sunday. His team controlled the course of the race and ultimately forced the desired mass sprint. Second was Konrad Gessner (RSC Turbine Erfurt) ahead of Willi Willwohl (LKT-Team-Brandenburg).
Pascal Ackermann joins the notable list of winners of the German U23 champions
As part of the Velothon Berlin, the highlight of the event took place on Sunday afternoon with the U23 championship. Over 175 km, the young German hopefuls got down to business. The course was almost identical to the 120 km long Jedermann route, with seven more rounds at the Berlin Tiergarten to be mastered at the end. The decision was then made on the longest home straight in the world. At the Ernst-Reuter-Haus, Pascal Ackermann was the first of the 153 registered drivers to cross the finish line. He is the successor to Katusha driver Nils Politt and joins a well-known list of winners. In recent years, well-known drivers such as Fabian Wegmann, Linus Gerdemann, Dominic Nerz, John Degenkolb and Rick Zabel have been able to start their successful careers with the title of German U23 champion. Pascal Ackermann is currently driving for the rad-net ROSE team and is currently ranked 25th in the Bundesliga. At the beginning of the race, a large group of leaders pulled away, which also included two drivers from the LKT-Team-Brandenburg. But on the final course around the Victory Column, the group splintered, which sooner or later had to mean the end. This was followed by the expected mass sprint, in which Ackermann was able to prove his strength.
The first folding bike world championship on German soil
In addition to the well-attended amateur race and a competition especially for the kids, there was not only the U23 championship to admire. Many spectators came to the Velothon Berlin on Saturday, where there was a large fair for interested bicycle fans and, on top of that, the first so-called folding bike world championships on German soil. The English cult bike called Brompton is affectionately referred to as a folding bike. When folded, it is just a third of the size of the unfolded one. In Great Britain this bike has been very popular for years, even special races are organized there every now and then. Berlin has now brought this trend to Germany. 250 participants were at the start, but the number of spectators was many times that. They were able to cheer for Michael Klais for the men and Nadine Heid for the women as they were able to reach the goal first. Both have thus automatically secured starting permission for the Brompton World Championship Final in London on July 30th. The Brompton World Championships have certainly further enhanced the Velothon Berlin, as this event – in the truest sense of the word – showed the diversity of cycling.
Impressions of the U23 championship in Berlin
