With 13 medals – including five gold ones – the German track cyclists win the team classification of the European Championships. The outstanding athlete is 23-year-old Friedrich. After their most recent triumph at the Berlin Six-Day Race, Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt also land on top of the podium in the Madison.
Led by European Champion Lea Sophie Friedrich, the German team finished the European Track Cycling Championships with three more medals. Friedrich from Cottbus secured the title in the Keirin sprint for the third time in a row. The two-time world champion prevailed in the final in Grenchen, Switzerland, ahead of Britain’s Emma Finucane. Third place went to Emma Hinze. For Friedrich it was the third gold medal after winning the team sprint and sprint.
“I was very motivated at the start because I really wanted to defend my European title in keirin. I’m really happy that we rocked it here,” said Friedrich after the award ceremony. “It was a great performance from us Germans at this European Championship. And we can be more than satisfied.” With her third win, the 23-year-old also became the most successful athlete in the title fights, following Hinze, who had won three gold medals at the European Championships in Munich.
In the so-called Madison, Berliners Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt successfully defended their title from the previous year. The two-time world champions in two-person team driving, two weeks ago also winners of the 110th Berlin six-day race, once again showed a strong performance and secured victory with the last classification. Kluge/Reinhardt scored 43 points and won ahead of Italy (34) and world champions France (30).
With seven gold, one silver and five bronze medals, the Federation of German Cyclists (BDR) won the nation ranking after five days of competition ahead of Great Britain and Italy. “It was a good start to the qualifying series for the 2024 Olympic Games. It shows that our strategic decisions are going in the right direction,” commented BDR Sports Director Patrick Moster on the results. The first Nations Cup of the season is already on the program in Jakarta, Indonesia, in two weeks.
