Frankfurt International Cycling Club

KVDV's RACE REPORT:

29/04/07 - Göttingen, Niedersachsen
Tough but pleasant racing

Göttingen remains one of my favourite German races. Registration and overall organisation is hassle-free, the results are like you expect them to be, and the 80 km long course is bloody tough to race on! For my third participation I just had a simple target: reach the finish with the fastest group, something I failed to do last season (second group, rank 36). For half of the race it did not look good for me, but eventually I did manage to cross the line just inside the top 20! The netto-time rule as of rank 16 relegated me to rank 21, but alas.

While warming up, my front braking cable lost all its tension. That was quite shocking. I had cable issues after the Cologne race ... but at the rear, not at the front! By the time I had everything fixed and reliable again, starting block A was already quite filled up and I was forced to take up a position towards the back. No big deal, the first 3km are neutralised anyway. Yeah right: the pace up front was immediately so high gaps emerged everywhere. The chase was on straightaway! I could not even see the front riders and the pace was blistering. I took the wheels of three guys wearing Tui-jerseys. I remembered them from the Münster event last season and they seemed keen to make it to the front as quickly as possible, too. However, it really was easier said than done. It was not exactly pancake flat and there were a few passages through small villages. It took 7-8 kilometres before I passed ECB Cyclosports teammate Morten and a bit further I finally caught up with Elin.

The rush to the front cost me a lot of strength and on the long sloping road that followed I could not keep up with the first group of about 30 riders that was now clearly detaching itself from the rest of the peloton. I resisted for a while with a few others, but to no avail. The wind did not help neither and I was gasping for air. A second group of about ten riders closed up and included Elin. The Agapedia train for Elin's main competitor Annika Grüber also joined us.

The next ten to fifteen kilometres I just tried to get my act together. Meanwhile, I noticed Elin was stronger than Annika. I told her to save her energy for the last climb, Hoher Hagen at 12km before the finish. However, the two or three teammates of Annika did a superb job 'protecting' her and in fact it was last year's winner of the women's T-Mobile Tour who took off at Hoher Hagen and not Elin.

The pace in our group was high enough to catch up with the leading group just before the long climb of Bramwald. That was just in time. I immediately sneaked my way up the front of the group, where I had no problems with the climbing pace. In fact, I started feeling better and better. The group split up again and I was comfortable sitting in there. The rollercoaster ride towards Hoher Hagen did not bother me at all, but at Hoher Hagen itself I had to accept that following was all I could, and I had to dig very deep to do so. When we turned left into the descent I was knackered and luckily I caught the wheel of another Agapedia-rider. Yet the subsequent bumps killed me and I once again dropped off the group of about 20-25 riders. The truth is this was racing at its finest. I battled my way up the stretch of false flat and joined two guys who had suffered the same fate. Together we reconnected with the group a bit later. Then it was basically straight down the line.

Unlike in Köln, the rush to the finish was not obstructed by sharp corners or narrow streets and I decided to give it a shot. I positioned myself up front and started the sprint in the wheel of Stefan Rademacher, who would finish fifth, but someone forced me to pull to the right where I got a bit squeezed. I estimated I crossed the line around 15th place. I did not know three guys were actually ahead of us since Hoher Hagen, with Michael Rademacher of Team UGS beating Oliver Beerman and Nino Ackermann for the win.

It was tough going this race, but I'm genuinely satisfied. Göttingen gives us jedermänner a perfect opportunity to race in a pleasant atmosphere and without many concerns about safety. I can only recommend this event once again to everyone.

FACT SHEET:

Name: Tour d' Energie
Date: 29 April 2007
Venue: Göttingen
Type: Race (T-Mobile Cycling Tour)
Distance: 80km
Hm: 1060hm
My Result: Rank 21/1327 (f), 2:07:01 (netto, rank 10)
Info: website
Event rating: 5/5