The next race for Team Lübbering was scheduled for the past weekend. We went to Kelheim for the Kelheim 24-hour race – the original on the road. This time, however, we weren't alone at the start as Team Lübbering. In addition, there was a women's team as a team Roll..Pro Cycling at the beginning.
Unfortunately I couldn't take part in this event after my fall at the Hockenheimring and I have to be patient for a few more weeks before I can get back on the Rose bike. Since Stefan and Thomas were so enthusiastic about the race, I took the opportunity to travel to Kelheim to see for myself.
On Friday we went first to Regensburg. Our southern spearhead lives there with Michael Weise in the team. Since the journey was quite long due to the start of the holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, we were all very happy that Micha had already taken care of the hotel key and a place in a good restaurant.
On Saturday we went towards Kelheim. Some drivers were already there and had set up our stand. This time also with the Lübbering show truck.
So not only the drivers could show what they can do, but also the team sponsor Lübbering could present his products.
Then it could start at 14:00 p.m. Quickly another Squeezy Sports Nutrition GmbH gel and off you go. Marius and Christiane were the first drivers to start. Both started furiously and came in 15th or 1st place after the first round. Our tactic was to let the two starting drivers drive 2 laps each and then switch to a rhythm of one lap.
Unfortunately, Marius missed the connection to the leading group due to a fall in front of him. I had thought that due to the length of the race, the driving would be a little more "adapted". But that is definitely not the case! That's where the gas really comes into play. Merle, Anna, Felicitas, Paula and Christiane were right at the front when stepping on the gas. The Roll..Profis were still at the forefront.
With Michael, Stefan, Thomas, Ulrich and Marius it always fluctuated between places 25 and 40. It always depended heavily on whether the boys found a group during their round. A few times the ascent and descent had to be tackled alone...
From 21:00 p.m. safety vests and lights were mandatory. We are well equipped with the light set from Contec Parts! Small, easy to assemble, and very good illumination of the road!
While the mood and the blood alcohol level in the party tents rose, we went back to the 2-round tactic during the night. So the drivers could sleep a little longer and recover better and then press on it again after sunrise. At this point the girls were still in 3rd place, the men in 34th place!!
The last few hours were a real fight again! Especially with the girls it got exciting again, because the lead on the 4th place melted away to only 3 minutes in the meantime. Everyone pulled out the last grains and fought brilliantly for the team. That was very impressive to watch! A really great team!
The result of this achievement: 48th place for the Lübbering team and 3rd place for the Roll..Profi Cycling Team and a great award ceremony!
Top performance from everyone!
At the end we went to a Bavarian snack to refill the memory. Everyone lacked the strength to celebrate properly. We will therefore make up for it in a timely manner!
For anyone who hasn't been there yet, I can only recommend going to Kelheim and either taking part in the race or having a look. The marquees definitely have something to offer too! A really great and well organized event! If it still works for us - so much the better!!
Many thanks to Michael Weise for the organisation, to everyone else who helped out so well and gave everything in the race and to Johannes Lübbering GmbH, without whom the event would not have been possible for us! I am already looking forward to Mission Kelheim 2018!
Your Oli
