Cycling: Fearless after the blackout: Lennard Kämna’s new beginning

Lennard Kämna is only skeptical for the first few minutes. “Then I noticed that it felt normal. I’m not afraid of traffic, I’m not afraid of downhill. That made me really happy at that moment,” said Germany’s best professional cyclist in an interview with the German Press Agency.

When the man from Bremen talks about his first ride after his serious accident, his enthusiasm is almost tangible. “It was a really great feeling, I was really euphoric,” Kämna emphasizes. A comeback this year? He is “firmly convinced that I will do something for myself this year.”

Kämna, however, only knows the darkest day of his career from stories. On April 3rd he was in Tenerife, preparing for the Giro d’Italia. He had reached a new performance limit, Kämna reported. But then there was that one descent, then there was that one car driver who simply overlooked Kämna. Collision, broken bones, chest trauma, bruised lung, operations.

Memories mix

He has no memories of it. “I don’t know how the descent started or how I got to the hospital. I was always conscious, but I also fell pretty hard on my head. That certainly wasn’t helpful,” says Kämna. He still remembers the first few days in the hospital a little, but now his perceptions are mixed up.

The topic has been ticked off anyway. Kämna wants to look forward and look forward to what is still to come in his career. It should be a fresh start. He has also looked for a new employer for this. Apparently it will be Lidl-Trek, but according to the regulations, Kämna is not allowed to talk about it until August 1st at the earliest.

At the moment, however, he can talk about why he is not continuing at Red Bull. After all, he spent five successful years there, winning stages in the Tour de France, the Giro and the Spanish Vuelta. Not many German professionals can say that about themselves.

Focus on tour ranking

Nevertheless, it was time for a change, which Kämna only decided to make after the accident. “The team gave me a lot and I was able to give the team a lot. But you also have to look at how my role is viewed and how other teams do it,” says the professional cyclist. There were obviously different opinions. Kämna would like to ride the big tours for the classification, but the racing team saw him more as a stage hunter.

Things obviously didn’t go well for all parties after the accident. Talks about a new contract were put on hold. Kämna leaves it open whether that is also a reason for his departure. “Ralph Denk (team boss, ed.) said that negotiations were put on hold after the accident. And if the rehab goes in the right direction, he intends to extend my contract. I’ll leave it at that for now,” says Kämna.

According to dpa information, concrete negotiations never took place. “Lennard decided on something else. I’m not personally angry about that. We’ve celebrated great successes and experienced highs and lows,” says Denk.

Goal Tour participation

Even though he is on the way back to his old strength, the accident has thrown the North German’s career plans into disarray. The coming season could be a year of rebuilding, depending on how quickly Kämna can get back to his level. He has one big goal: to be in the Tour de France next year. “It’s hard to say what role I’ll be in right now, it was easier before the accident,” says Kämna.

In the long term, he wants to ride in the overall rankings again in one of the three major tours. The Tour is currently a good example of this, with Tadej Pogacar showing some extraordinary performances. “You have to be honest. I don’t think I’m capable of riding at Pogacar’s pace,” says Kämna. “What he showed at the Giro and now at the Tour is absolutely extraordinary. It’s phenomenal, nobody can match it at the moment.” At some point he wants to be phenomenal again.