Cycling: The Lexware mountain bike team has announced three more additions for the 2015 season. Lena Wehrle, Anna Saier and Torben Drach move up from the junior team to the top team, taking a career step forward.
The development of young athletes, ideally all the way to the professional ranks, is the conceptual cornerstone of the Lexware Mountainbike Team. For the up-and-coming bikers gathered in the Lexware Junior Team, the top team is both a goal and an incentive. And, as with Lena Wehrle, Anna Saier, and Torben Drach, it represents the next step in their careers. "That definitely means more responsibility ," Torben Drach emphasizes first and foremost, "I now have a proper contract and receive the appropriate equipment. In return, I have to deliver the corresponding performance."
# Drivers from left to right: Anna Saier, Torben Drach and Lena Wehrle
The Kirchzarten native doesn't associate this with pressure, but rather "with joy ," as he says. "For years it's been my dream, and I've always looked up to the greats ," explains the German Vice Champion in the youth category and third-place finisher in the German Downhill Championships. State coach Bernd Ebler, who mentors the 16-year-old student, has played a major role in his development. Anna Saier is also full of anticipation. "I'm very proud to be able to race up there. This is another step in my career ," says the student from Offenburg. Until now, she's only read about the races of the top team, including U23 Champion Georg Egger, Christian Pfäffle, and others.
And the German U17 vice-champion also points out that things are about to get "even tougher ," more demanding in terms of competitions and training. The two young riders will compete in the final races of the BDR (German Cycling Federation) junior talent identification series this weekend in Pracht. Anna Saier even still has a chance at the overall victory.
The third homegrown talent to join the top team in 2015 is Lena Wehrle. She has overcome some tough times in recent years, but never lost her passion for mountain biking and reaped the well-deserved reward of the German U23 Championship title. The technically skilled rider from Buchenbach also finished second in the U23 Bundesliga and demonstrated her abilities in the Eliminator Sprint. "I'm absolutely thrilled to have made the jump to the top team. This will make things a lot easier for me next year ," commented the student at the Freiburg University of Art and Design on signing her contract.
“We are delighted to welcome promising talents from our own ranks to the Lexware Mountainbike Team once again. Our goal is to offer these talents an optimal platform and framework for their further development, giving them the necessary impetus without overwhelming them,” explains team manager Daniel Berhe.