"It's a boom": German women are outperforming men

By Stefan Tabeling, dpa

Whether at the World Championships or most recently at the Tour de France - women are almost exclusively responsible for German cycling successes. Gone are the days when Tony Martin won a string of World Championship medals or sprinters such as Marcel Kittel or André Greipel ensured a steady stream of victories.

"I don't know what the men are doing. We're concentrating on ourselves," joked Liane Lippert, who is aiming for a big coup in the 154.1 kilometre road race at the end of the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow on Sunday, a good three weeks after her stage win at the Tour.

Women record victories

It would be the continuation of a young success story. Lippert and national team colleague Ricarda Bauernfeind each celebrated a stage win in the second edition of the newly established women's tour, while the men had previously come away empty-handed for the second time in a row. In addition, 20-year-old Antonia Niedermaier caused a sensation by winning the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia Donne, and on Thursday she followed this up with the world championship title in the U23 time trial.

"Women's cycling is having a good time at the moment. It shows that we're a force to be reckoned with," says Bauernfeind and Lippert adds: "It's a boom, and not just for Ricarda and me. It's good that a new generation is growing up."

It's a snapshot that has been established in track cycling for several years now. Eight-time world champions Lea Sophie Friedrich and Emma Hinze dominate the sprint scene, while the men lag behind. There was not a single medal in Glasgow.

Greipel sees problems in the youth sector

The new national road coach Greipel does not see German men's cycling in such a bad position and points to the good performances at the Tour. He rather sees the problems in the junior ranks. However, after the road race, when former champion John Degenkolb finished 16th as the best German, he spoke of an "honest result".

At the end of the elimination race, only the stars of the industry remained, from world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) to all-rounder Wout van Aert (Belgium) and superstar Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia).

A course for Lippert?

Lippert is also expecting a similar scenario, but then wants to be in the mix for the title. Bauernfeind encourages her: "The course is perfect for Liane. The short climbs are exactly what she will love and what she can do." Lippert, who is set to take over from the great Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) in the Movistar team, still has a score to settle anyway. Last year, she missed out on a medal in fourth place at the World Championships in Australia because the leading group got caught up in tactical games and was overtaken. "I learnt my lesson from that and how I will do it in the future," says the 25-year-old.

And then there is Niedermaier, just 20 years young. Hardly anyone climbs the mountains as quickly as the Rosenheim native, who is also pushing ahead with her career in ski mountaineering, as the high school graduate emphasises: "I'm going to keep doing that. My goal is the 2026 Winter Olympics." So there's still time for that.

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