Race report by Jonathan Reuning / Team Green'n Fit
Rad am Ring is the seventh race of the German Cycling Cup this year. Like five weeks earlier at the Hockenheimring, this time it was again a motor racing track. This time, everyone was drawn to the Nürburgring in the Eifel. The route also led over the legendary Nordschleife, known as "the green hell". On Saturday, the sun greeted us with its most beautiful smile, which should give us a few hours of sunshine and temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius. This time the team consisted of: Manuela Freund and Marion Wittler on the long distance (150 km); Stefan Frost, Thomas Frost, Marco Bastiaansen and Jonathan Reuning on the short distance (75 km).
The demanding as well as attractive course is known for its many meters of altitude. The "Hohe Acht" section of the route, with its 17 percent drop, is the biggest challenge for the racers. Depending on the length of the route, this passage has to be conquered three to six times. The starting gun for the long distance was fired at exactly 12:00 p.m. After another four minutes, the start of the short distance followed. The pace of both races was very high right from the start, especially since the first few kilometers had to be covered on the Grand Prix track. Then it went straight into the green hell, on the Nordschleife. In what felt like free fall, we threw ourselves down into the so-called fox tube. Reaching over 100 kilometers per hour is not uncommon on this sloping section of the route. But where it goes down, there it goes up again somewhere. On the short distance, the pace was also brisk on the climb, so that we lost contact with the leading group. In the section of the steep wall roundabout, the so-called carousel, which is a bit flatter, we came closer to the "tete de la course" again. However, not a kilometer later followed the "Hohe Acht", where the mountain fleas were in demand. Unfortunately, Peter Mertens, our climber, was unable to attend, so we couldn't place any riders in the leading group. As soon as the first 25 kilometers had been driven and the first lap completed, the starting field was stretched out like chewing gum. We were swallowed up by the green hell. Small groups of pursuers formed, in which one did not agree on the tracking work. Thus, little by little, we got ourselves a bigger time lag. The same thing in green happened at the same time over the long distance.
In the second lap I had to find my own rhythm and was able to make up a few places. Unfortunately, from about half of the race I had a few technical problems, so I lost the hard-fought places again. In the last few kilometers, I sprinted towards the finish with two other riders. Even though I only finished 39th overall, I'm happy with my race in these conditions. My teammates took the following places: Marco Bastiaansen 52nd place, Stefan Frost 118th place and Thomas Frost 195th place in the overall standings. Our strong women were able to prove their class over the long distance again. Manuela Freund secured a place on the podium with 3rd place overall. Marion Wittler still fought his way to 4th place in the overall ranking. The long-distance riders also had to struggle with the warm temperatures later on. As in the short distance, the field was severely decimated, so that the two women had to drive many kilometers alone. Manuela Freund was not only able to defend the yellow jersey, but is also expanding her lead over her pursuer.
The race is highly recommended and I will definitely not be there for the last time. In addition to the amateur races, there are other highlights such as the 24-hour race for racing cyclists and mountain bikers. Also in the program was a professional race, which took place on Sunday - a perfect cycling weekend for ambitious cycling enthusiasts.
Now it's time to regenerate as quickly as possible and prepare for the next GCC race in two weeks. We are drawn back to East Germany, more precisely to Dresden. For the team, this again means a long drive, as most of the drivers come from East Westphalia (Bielefeld, Gütersloh), where our main sponsors are also based. On the technical, flat and fast street circuit on the Elbe, it's time to turn right again and attack!