Schachmann forgoes participation in the World Championships
DPA
· 04.08.2023
The German team will have to make do without two-time German champion Maximilian Schachmann in Sunday's World Championship road race in Glasgow.
World Cycling Championships 2023: Jannik Steimle moves into the squad for Maximilian Schachmann
The 29-year-old has decided not to take part due to a lack of form, with Jannik Steimle taking his place. After the two races in Spain last weekend, Schachmann approached the German Cycling Federation and told them that his form did not allow him to perform to the required standard, said BDR Vice President Marcus Burghardt at a press conference in Glasgow: "Max has high expectations of himself and is success-orientated. He couldn't live up to that."
>> World Cycling Championships 2023 Glasgow: All information about the road races
>> These are the favourites for the men's road race
German time trial champion Nils Politt will lead the team as captain. However, the German team, which has been waiting for a world title since Rudi Altig's success in 1966, is not one of the favourites. "It would be super nice to achieve a top result from a small group," said Politt, who has the Belgians around defending champion Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert as well as the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel and the Slovenian Tour runner-up Tadej Pogacar on his radar. Politt will ride together with Pogacar in the UAE team in the future.
World Cycling Championships 2023 Glasgow: Greipel: "Naturally one of the underdogs"
Politt believes that the 271.1 kilometre race has a few surprises in store. "Anyone sitting in front of the TV on Sunday will think to themselves after the first lap: What kind of world championship is this? There are a lot of corners, a lot of bends. We don't expect a big field competing for victory. It will be difficult to control," said the former Tour stage winner. Should it rain, this would not be a disadvantage according to John Degenkolb: "Mentally, we are prepared for the fact that it could rain and play into our hands."
Long-time top sprinter André Greipel will be the national coach for the first time on Sunday. "Of course we are among the underdogs. But I assume that we have the riders and the class to finish in the top ten," said Greipel.
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