In the fast lane: The German track sprinter Emma Hinze (l.) can hardly be caught by her opponents at the moment.
Foto: imago/ Beautiful Sports
“I think we’ve put the balance of power back in order,” said a beaming and confident Emma Hinze into the microphones after her second World Championship gold medal at Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. After the initial success at the start of the “Super World Cup” in Scotland in the team sprint together with her Cottbus training colleagues Pauline Grabosch and Lea Sophie Friedrich, the 25-year-old also raced to gold in the 500-meter time trial on Friday evening.
After last year at the World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the hosts from France, Mathilde Gros and Marie-Divine Kouamé Taky, were able to break through the German long-term dominance in the short-term area, which has been in place since 2020, with their victories in the sprint and time trial, the balance of power now appears restored in women. Hinze, Friedrich and Grabosch have won twelve of 14 World Cup decisions since 2020. The trio from Cottbus currently dominates the top almost at will.
Right at the start of the biggest cycling World Championships of all time with more than 200 decisions in seven disciplines, the “Brandenburg Express” raced to the title in the team sprint in a new world record time. The clock stopped at 45.848 seconds, leaving host Great Britain in second place. After 2020, 2021 and 2022, the title went to the three sprinters from Cottbus again. “To do it for the fourth time in a row is so cool. And then with a world record,” said Hinze.
Almost 24 hours later, Hinze received her second gold medal as the winner of the 500-meter time trial. In third place, ex-world champion Lea Friedrich also won the second precious metal with bronze. Pauline Grabosch finished fifth. “I’m happy that I’ve now won a rainbow jersey in all sprint disciplines,” said Hinze after her winning run. Previously, only eleven-time world champion Anna Meares from Australia had managed this feat. After World Cup victories in the team sprint (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), sprint (2020, 2021) and Keirin (2020), the 25-year-old completed her outstanding record with her victory in the fight against the clock and her eighth World Cup success overall and came a big step closer to the two record world champions Meares and Kristina Vogel (both eleven world titles each).
Although Hinze doesn’t like cross-comparisons: “Every person, every path is different.” In the time trial qualification Hinze set the best time with 32.850 seconds, which is why she was the last starter on the track in the final and improved the previous record there. “I am very happy. If things go like this next year, that would be really great,” said last year’s second-placed athlete, taking a look towards the 2024 Olympics. The woman from Cottbus completed the two laps in 32.820 seconds and was 0.13 seconds faster than Australian Kristina Clonan. Lea Friedrich, who was fourth after qualifying, improved and won the bronze medal.
In the keirin on Sunday (ed.) and in the sprint tournament, which ends on Wednesday, Hinze and Friedrich are now the top favorites. After the performances in the team sprint and time trial, it would not be a surprise if, like in 2020 in Berlin and 2021 in Roubaix, they again fight for all four possible titles. This means that the roles for the Olympic Games, which will take place in a year’s time, would be clearly distributed.
However, Paris 2024 will not be a sure-fire success. The 2021 games in Tokyo taught us that, when Hinze and Friedrich came back with “only” a silver medal despite strong preliminary performance. ‘The Glasgow results say nothing about how next year will go. It’s just a year away, but of course the results give you confidence and courage. It shows that we are going in the right direction and that we are training well. You can take a lot with you from the preparations this year, because the date of the Olympics is the same as this World Championships,” said Hinze. And Emma Hinze, who has undoubtedly matured both physically and mentally, sees herself able to cope with the pressure that will undoubtedly arise before Tokyo: “I’ve learned from it,” says the sprinter.
The men, on the other hand, are still a good way away from medals. The times when René Wolff from Erfurt, Stefan Nimke from Schwerin, Maximilian Levy from Cottbus or Stefan Bötticher from Chemnitz helped determine the world level in sprints and regularly finished on the podium are long gone. After all: In the team sprint, the trio with Luca Spiegel (RV Dudenhofen) and the two Cottbusers Nik Schröter and Maximilian Dörnbach (both RSC Cottbus) took a strong fifth place and made an important step towards Paris. In 42.92 seconds, the German team, which had been switched over at short notice, also impressed with the time. »I’m satisfied with our time and placement. We’re on the right track,” said Nik Schröter. The men from the Netherlands, who, like the German women, have long been determining the level, became world champions in a gripping final.
Another German medal on the track was won by Franziska Brausse from Eningen, who finished second in the 3000 meter individual pursuit. The converted German women’s foursome, who became Olympic champions in Tokyo, only finished seventh this time with Brauße, Lisa Klein, Lena Charlotte Reißer and Mieke Kröger. The German men’s four took the same place.
Environmental activists stop World Cup drivers
The prestigious road race of the World Championships in Glasgow was interrupted for almost an hour on Sunday by a protest by environmental activists. After almost 80 kilometers, the escape group and the peloton couldn’t go any further on a narrow mountain road, so that the outcome of the race (according to the editorial deadline) was significantly delayed. Activists from the This is Rigged organization claimed responsibility for the action, which left several people glued to the asphalt. However, the television picture produced by the organizers did not show them. Five people were arrested. The chemical company Ineos, which is active in cycling as a major sponsor, was the target of the protest, the group said in a statement. Ineos produces diesel and petrol in Scotland.SID/nd
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