The Course
For this German city centre route it’s a flat course in general but with several man made obstacles, including having to ride through two haulage lorries, over two jumps – one of which includes a car that riders have to jump over. This course however features the first time we’re seeing route options. At two different sectors, participants can choose whether to take the “A line” or “B line”. The A line is typically quicker, more direct, but will increase the risk with a jump for example. The B line will be less dangerous but that safety comes at a time cost. Riders will have to pick what suits them and their goals best. Perhaps if they’re leading by a large margin they might go for the safer route. We will see if anyone takes those options and how the races go below.
The Races
Women’s
Quarter-finals
Gaia Tormena had it slightly easier by qualifying top and with there being only 15 riders, her heat was only three in number. That meant that only one of those would be eliminated. The other heats went largely to the qualifying book but it was really heartening to see Aline Simoes make it through into the semi finals as typically she does a good time-trial but doesn’t proceed to the semi-finals. In the final heat again the top seeded riders made it through in the form of Annemoon van Dienst and Lina Huber. Hannah Beck and Madison Boissiere were unfortunately eliminated here and in the case of Hannah you could sense how much the racing meant to her and how upset she was but she’s just coming back from injury at Leuven so it’s understandable.
We caught up with her after the event: “So Aalen was my first ever home World Cup. Standing at the start-line here meant so much to me, especially because it was such an amazing atmosphere and an outstanding home crowd. Unfortunately the race itself was bit of a struggle for me. After my time trial run my injuries from my crash in Belgium started to hurt again. I still wanted to give it a go & try my best for the quarterfinals but I just couldn’t keep up with the other riders. Every breath started to become very painful in my partially fractured rib. I really tried everything I could not only on the race day itself but also during the past weeks of preparation but I just had to accept that my recovery journey is not over yet & that it will still take some time.
Semi-finals
In the first semi-final, Tormena took lead and never relented. Lia Schrievers made the jump at the end of the first lap and rode well against Line Mygdam who couldn’t get back past Schrievers and unfortunately Abrahamsson never looked like she was in it. The second semi-final was hectic. Marion Fromberger got the lead from the start and van Dienst nearly crashed after the lorries. Contrary to almost all other riders, Marion took the B line and in so doing, everyone caught back up with her. Simoes and Huber were nearby going into the second lap where van Dienst made a move to get into the first position. It worked until the wave ride, where she mistimed the jump and upon landing, she did a front flip off her bike. She still got up and continued her race to finish the event so she could qualify for the small final. The two Germans, Frommberger and Huber made it through to the big final to join their compatriot Schrievers and the World Champion Tormena.
Small and Big Finals
For both men and women the small final was not shown, and in favour we were treated to an interview with the Team Corratec riders (Simon Gegenheimer, Titouan Perrin-Ganier and Marion Fromberger). However the finishing order was Mygdam, van Dienst, Abrahamsson, Simoes.
From the start in the big final, Tormena took the lead ahead of regular competitor Fromberger. Schrievers was in third and Huber brought up the rear. Marion made a move on her rivals on the wave jump and got a lead however she later slid out on a corner in the changeable conditions and lost her position eventually finishing fourth. Tormena was against two relative unknowns to me as I have not seen their names on the circuit since I’ve followed the sport, and to me that felt like Gaia’s race to lose. However it came down to a sprint and it was Schrievers who got the better of the World Champion on the line. As is so often said, the only time it matters to be in the lead is at the finish line.
Men’s
Quarter-finals
There wasn’t a huge amount to report on, most races were decided in the first few metres but crashes in the wet-dry conditions did play a factor. Qualifiers from the first two quarter-finals were Nils-Obed Riecker, Theo Hauser, Felix Klausmann and Titouan Perrin-Ganier (TPG). In the third heat there was nearly a false-start. Once the race does get under way, Stephan Mayer and Simon Gegenheimer slide out. Marlon Uhl crashes on the wave jump. Gegenheimer was nearly unable to avoid him, but Mayer was not so fortunate and careered into Uhl. Killian Demangeon must have wondered what was happening, from his perspective it was an easy qualifying with absolute carnage behind. Heat four had a sprint finish and Thibaut Kahlhoven nearly gets taken out by a deviation. However it is him and Quentin Schrotzenberger who progress.
Semi-finals
Klausmann took the early lead with TPG in second. Behind them it was Riecker and Hauser with everyone initially content to hold position. At the end of the first lap TPG made a move to get into first and take control of the race. As the race neared its conclusion, Hauser moved past Riecker into the wall-ride and used the momentum gained to challenge for a qualifying position into the sprint for the line but ultimately he couldn’t make up enough ground. Titouan and Klausmann qualified for the big final; Riecker and Hauser for the small final.
In the other semi final it was Kahlhoven who had the lead from the start and Gegenheimer sat in second ahead of Demangeon and Schrotzenberger. At the end of the first lap, Gegenheimer made a move to advance his position and take the lead from Kahlhoven. Demangeon followed him through though and took the lead from Simon to put him back down into second again. Despite Kahlhoven’s best efforts, that’s how it remained and from two heats where the first was 3 German speakers (Hauser is Austrian rather than German) and a Frenchman, and the second was 3 Frenchmen and a German – the big final was perfectly balanced with two of each nationality qualifying.
Small and Big Finals
As before there was no coverage of the small final but the finishing positions were Schrotzenberger, Riecker, Hauser, Kahlhoven.
Once the riders were let go from the start, it was Klausmann who made his mark on proceedings. He took the lead and then never rescinded that position. He lead from start to end. Gegenheimer was closest to him initially but he lost ground quickly and even looked like he ceded second to his Corratec team-mate Perrin-Ganier, I assume in the hope that if he himself couldn’t win, then perhaps his colleague could. TPG got close but was unable to pass the German, Demangeon was third behind him and Gegenheimer finished in fourth
After this round, the next event is in Oudenaarde on Sunday 13th August. Keep an eye-out for links to the YouTube stream. Previous reports and other cycling punditry can be found here