Cycling: German champion Tim Böhme and defending champion Markus Kaufmann lead the field in the fifth edition of the three-day Sparkasse Trans Zollernalb, which begins next Friday, September 19th. In the women's race, Gabi Stanger and Regina Genser have a duel of generations.
Everything boils down to the duel between Tim Böhme and Markus Kaufmann. Or not? This is not as calculable as it seems on paper. And certainly not at Sparkasse Trans Zollernalb.
The team tactical variants will have an impact on what is happening and Tim Böhme is quite well equipped for that. He has three colleagues from Team Bulls at his side at the start in Bad Imnau.
The German U23 runner-up Martin Frey from Bad Urach does not yet have that much experience in the marathon, but he can certainly help Böhme. The Swiss-by-choice Stefan Sahm recently showed a high level in the marathon championships and, at the age of 38, has already mastered all long-distance tricks. He's also a driver type who puts a lot of effort into helping a teammate.
The all-rounder in the team, Simon Stiebjahn from Titisee-Neustadt, may have a very special role. As the German sprint champion, he can hunt for bonus seconds in the three intermediate sprint classifications. And he can pull off attacks that Bulls use to force the competition to work.
Stiebjahn got both the discipline rating in the sprint and the overall rating in the mountain bike Bundesliga last weekend. The 24-year-old will not be lacking in form.
Tim Böhme sees himself obliged in the German champion's jersey to drive to victory. To date, he has used the tour through the charming Zollernalb district more as a preparatory race.
"I would also like to give something back to the team for helping with the DM, but I also see myself as responsible for the jersey. We'll have to see how the first day goes.", said Böhme, who also won the bike marathon in the Vulkan-Eifel last Saturday.
Identifying Markus Kaufmann as the main competitor is not difficult. The man from Meckenbeuren has had an incredibly consistent season so far and he proved that he's not out of breath yet with his victory in Furtwangen on Sunday.
"I have to think about it", says Kaufmann about the dominance of the Bulls. "Maybe I can show my strength on the mountain on the second stage", he speculates.
It's difficult to judge how good his Centurion-Vaude teammate Hannes Genze is. The Sindelfingen didn't fare so well at the DM, but Genze actually always looked good at the Sparkasse Trans Zollernalb. Winner in 2010, second in 2011 and third in 2013 are proof enough.
It could be a fight for seconds again, maybe for the bonus seconds in the sprint classifications in Rosenfeld-Bickelsberg, in Meßstetten and in Straßberg, but that's not certain, as the 2013 edition showed.
Ladies: Halmschlag positions itself
Three names stand out from the women's starting field.
At 22, Regina Genser from Craft-Rocky Mountain is still a relatively fresh face in long-distance racing, but finishing tenth at the World Championships in South Africa this year has already given her impressive proof of quality.
The Freiburg doctor Kirsten Halmschlag was sixth at the Trans-Schwarzwald in August and at the end of May the biker from the Black Forest Wheeler-iXS team took second place at the German Doctors and Pharmacists Championships as part of the Gonso Albstadt MTB Classic. Last Sunday, the 27-year-old also managed to win the Black Forest Bike Marathon in Furtwangen. With that, Halmschlag has already positioned itself.
And then there is the almost legendary Gabi Stanger. The fact that the 46-year-old ex-handball national player Stanger was even able to win the Sparkasse Trans Zollernalb at the premiere, she was second in 2011 and fourth last year. "I hope for a good late form", she says noncommittally. What that's enough for, you will be able to say on Sunday in Hechingen.