The German track cycling team experienced an extremely successful home European Championship: there were three gold medals on Saturday alone. One is “cool”, one “deserves” and one is a sensation. The atmosphere in the hall and the team is great.
The German track cyclists continued their series of successes at the European Championships in Munich. After winning the team decisions, Mieke Kröger from Bielefeld won their second title in the 3000 meter individual pursuit and Emma Hinze from Cottbus in the 500 meter time trial on Saturday. In addition, Nicolas Heinrich from Chemnitz managed a surprise coup with gold in the 4000 meter individual pursuit.
At the end of the second deciding day, Moritz Malcharek (Berlin) finished second in the scratch race over 15 kilometers. The German Cyclists’ Association (BDR) has already won five European Championship titles and one silver on the oval in the Munich Exhibition Centre.
In a German final, Mieke Kröger unexpectedly defeated world champion Lisa Brennauer. In 3:22.469 minutes, the 29-year-old was 1.097 seconds faster than her teammate from Durach, five years her senior and who missed out on a win at the end of her track career. “As much as I like the team discipline, winning an individual title is good for the soul,” said the new European champion.
Brennauer, who missed the crowning glory with another title at the end of her track career, did not take the defeat too seriously. “I drove a great race again and can be really satisfied with this amazing finish,” she said. “If someone can beat me, it’s her, of course. I’m happy for Mieke too. She deserves it, she had the faster legs today.”
Emma Hinze also had fast legs. In the time trial final, the sprint world champion improved her German record to 32.668 seconds after setting a national record of 32.732 seconds in qualifying in the morning. “I didn’t expect that because it’s almost a second faster than my best time. It just kind of went well. It’s definitely really cool,” she said of her record attempts.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Heinrich caused a big surprise. The 20-year-old U23 European Champion won the final in the single pursuit against Italy’s Davide Plebani in 4:09.320 seconds after having set the best time in qualifying with 4:08.995 minutes. “Indescribable. The audience was great. A perfect day for me,” said the federal police officer.
