European Track Cycling Championships in Munich: Titles seven and eight for Friedrich and Kluge/Reinhardt

Lea Sophie Friedrich as well as Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt won titles seven and eight for the German track cyclists on the final day of the European Championships.

After the success with Emma Hinze and Pauline Grabosch in the team sprint, Friedrich from Cottbus also won the combat sprint Keirin in Munich and secured her second gold. With a splendid final round, the world champion relegated the Polish Urszula Los and Olena Starikova from the Ukraine to the following places. “I’m happy that I was able to defend my title,” said the double European champion.

In the last European Championship decision, Berlin’s Kluge and Reinhardt celebrated a superior success in Madison. In the two-man team drive over 50 kilometers known from the six-day race, the duo won with 101 points ahead of France (91) and Belgium (58). Maximilian Dörnbach had previously also won silver in the keirin. Only Frenchman Sebastian Vigier was faster than the man from Cottbus. Marc Jurczyk from Erfurt finished eighth.

The Association of German Cyclists (BDR) was the most successful association in the track competitions, with eight gold, four silver and one bronze medals. “We were able to present ourselves very well in front of the local audience and are satisfied. That’s a great result,” said BDR sports director Patrick Moster.

However, he also restricted that the strongest competition was not at the start in all disciplines. “This is a position determination, which is positive. But it also showed us one or the other thing that we need to work on further,” he judged. With a view to the World Championships from October 12th to 16th in Paris, the performance gives “a huge self-confidence”. The path taken with the new national coaches Jan van Eijden (sprint) and Tim Zühlke (endurance) is the right one. Everything harmonized well. “That also surprised me personally,” said Moster.