Fights his way into the role of the captain: Lennard Kämna
Photo: imago/Jasper Jacobs
It’s a rise that Lennard Kämna would certainly not have wished for: As a co-captain with freedom in the German team Bora-hansgrohe, he started the Giro d’Italia. After the retirement of the Russian professional cyclist Alexander Wlassow, who had realistic prospects of a podium finish, the 26-year-old from Wedel in Schleswig-Holstein is now the sole captain. The responsibility for a good overall result now rests on his shoulders.
It was planned differently. Kämna should actually support Wlasow, always be at the front with him, at best they should take turns in attack cascades. Above all, Kämna should learn what it means to ride a three-week Grand Tour with the classification in mind. Vlasov, however, is eliminated. Already at the time trial last Sunday he looked shattered and got off the stage after that completely exhausted. The positive Covid result came later.
Kämna has mastered the new challenges skillfully so far. And he is not intimidated by the virus either. “We’re being careful, but there’s no great panic in the team,” he said. Many old pandemic routines have been retained anyway: disinfect hands, wear masks. In view of the increasing number of failures, the organizers of the Giro d’Italia also imposed a mask requirement in the start and finish area. “We try to be as clean as possible in our bubble and of course not to get sick,” is Kämna’s resolution.
However, things went wrong with teammate Wlasow. A major setback for the racing team, which after all won the Giro last year and is formally the defending champion – even if the actual winner Jai Hindley is not there and is preparing for the Tour de France. ‘Of course it’s a great pity that we lost Alex. We all put a lot of work into the preparation,” said Jens Zemke, Bora’s sporting director at the Giro.
But grieving doesn’t help. The race goes on. And Lennard Kämna accepts the task as sole captain well. He drives attentively and intelligently, usually stays at the front of the field – and so far also away from the crash zones. The worst daily placement was rank 23. This shows: Kämna is always among the favorites. He doesn’t fight for the day’s victories in the mass sprint, but wants to avoid dangers, even within the three-kilometre zone before the finish line, in which deficits caused by a fall do not have a negative impact on the classification. “Our goal is to get through safely, and so far it has worked quite well,” Nico Denz summed up after the eleventh stage. He had his teammate Kämna on the rear wheel.
Numerous favorites have already dropped out: the Belgian world champion Remco Evenepoel in the pink jersey, the Brit Tao Geoghegan Hart in third position and Wlasow, who was close to the best. In addition, the two leading favorites Geraint Thomas and Primoz Roglic are injured by falls. In view of the many failures, the Belgian Thomas de Gendt, third in the 2012 Giro, posted sarcastically: “It’s a shame that I’m not going to be part of this Giro. I could easily get back on the podium.«
Such is not heard from Kämna. But with smart riding he could go quite far in this Giro, which is more reminiscent of an elimination race than a Grand Tour. He has the feeling for racing: Kämna is an instinctive driver with very good control of the bike.
Of course he makes mistakes too. On the eighth stage, he went along with an attack by Roglic – and overdid it. “I was a bit high-spirited in the last ten kilometers because I felt really good. I just rode into the mountain too fast. In the end, unfortunately, I had to pay some tribute and lost time,” he admitted. The fact that he overestimated his powers can also be taken as a good sign: Kämna has powers. And he’s willing to use it. Now he just has to deal with it more economically.
In the opinion of those around him, he has so far withstood the pressure of being the sole captain. “Lennard has also been captain in other races and handles the role very well,” confirms Bora’s senior sports director Rolf Aldag. In order to take some of the pressure off Kämna, his teammates are allowed to break away on the coming stages and compete for stage victories. Condition: At least one Bora professional must always stay with Kämna in order to defend at least sixth place. The next major challenge this Friday is the mountain stage to Crans Montana.
