Cycling: Surprise at the German U23 Championship. With Leon Heinschke (Sunweb Development Team), a 19-year-old outsider won. In an exciting race around Gippingen, he narrowly prevailed as a soloist. The new Swiss U23 champion is Mauro Schmid (Swiss Racing Academy).
Heinschke catches the right moment
The German and Swiss U23 championships were held jointly today in Leuggern. The challenging 166-kilometer course saw action from the start, with the Swiss riders initially showing the most attacking intent. After the early breakaway riders were caught and the peloton was gradually thinned by numerous attacks, Leon Heinschke (Sunweb Development Team) launched a perfectly timed attack. However, with almost all the contenders for the win focused on top favorite Jonas Rutsch (Lotto – Kern-Haus), the chase began too late.
national coach Ralph Grabsch:
“It was a demanding championship race, even if I would have wished for an offensive driving style from our drivers earlier. In the last two laps, however, they gave it their all and fought a tough championship fight.”
Slip prevented his role as favorite
Jonas Rutsch himself repeatedly tried to force a breakaway, but found no one willing to join him. Leon Heinschke thus won by a few bike lengths over Johannes Adamietz (Hermann Radteam) and Henrik Pakalski (KED-Stevens Radteam Berlin). With this victory, Leon Heinschke continues his team's winning streak. His teammate Max Kanter won the previous two years. Mauro Schmid (Swiss Racing Academy) won the Swiss U23 Championship ahead of Antoine Aebi (Akros Thömus) and Damian Lüscher (Swiss Racing Academy).
Leon Heinske:
“It's nice that I was able to continue this tradition for my team. I knew my form was right. That it was enough to win makes me proud.”
The German U23 road race champion is once again from #DevoTeamSunweb ! Leon Heinschke wins the #ThreeCountriesChampionship 🇩🇪 and is the successor to Max Kanter. #KeepChallenging #WeAreTeamSunweb 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/FfD1QOEGdL
— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) June 15, 2019