After the first successes at the Tour of Cyprus, the Corratec team started with the Giro Sardegna at the next two big tours, on the "dream island" of the Mediterranean. The 4 Team Corratec riders - Bart Bury, Johannes Berndl, Michael Markolf and Martin Reisner - again had to deal with great international competition with over 700 starters from well-known, experienced cycling teams. The 6 stages were held in sunshine, warm temperatures and a lot of wind.
As always, the Corratec team had prepared and prepared for this challenge in the best possible way. This time, in addition to the light Corratec road racers CCT Evo, the equipment also included the super-fast C-Time time trial machines, because there were two definitely crucial time trials to be tackled. Despite all the preparation, before the first stage we didn't know where we were and what awaited us in the race. So the team bravely agreed on an offensive tactic for the first stage. Why? On the one hand, you then knew where you stood, what might or might not work. On the other hand, the Corratec team also heeded the old "racing driver's wisdom" that the overall classification of tours is often decided in the first stages.
The first stage – a successful start
The race was very hectic from the start with strong winds. Team Corratec had learned their lesson from the Tour of Cyprus and tried to be in every breakaway group. The large peleton became increasingly smaller with the exhausting driving style. After many climbs and the sometimes "ugly" side wind, a 30-man breakaway group formed after the first half of the race. Michael Markolf and Martin Reisner, supported by Johannes Berndl, made it into this group. With a lead of almost 1 minute, Cipoletto – who was also to win the tour – crossed the finish line as the winner of the day. In the first chasing group of 25 riders, there was a wild sprint for the other places. Michael Markolf and Martin Reisner crossed the finish line in Santa Teresa in 19th and 21st place, just under 1 minute behind. They both finished fifth in their race categories. Everyone in the team was more than satisfied with the successful start.
Successful time trial
After the lunch break, the Corratec team completed time trial training on the complicated 24 km route for the team time trial. On the one hand, you already had the route in your head. On the other hand, the tasks in the team could be realistically agreed. After the training, the settings of the time trial machines were individually optimized. And everything that could still be aerodynamically optimized - racing machine, time trial suit, overshoes, time trial helmets, etc. - was improved with attention to detail. At the latest, everyone was hot for the decisive individual time trial. Johannes, Michael and Martin surprised themselves and the whole team with the overall places 5, 10 and 14th, which also meant a decent jump in the overall ranking.
Victory in the team time trial
After the pleasing results, the team agreed on further tactics as follows. We always wanted to try to remain the overall leader in the "slipstream" and take advantage of any opportunities in the final. After his strong performance, Michael Markolf was appointed as the team leader for whom the entire team was now working. In addition, the team time trial was still to come, where the Corratec team was determined to fight for the podium. After a great team performance, we were able to reward ourselves with the first victory in a large team time trial in Corratec's 25-year history.
The other stages at a glance - tactics - race - results
3st stage: King's stage over 173 km with 2295 m ascent
Overall place 2 (class place 1) for Michael Markolf
5st stage: Road race with mountain finish in Aglientu over 126 km with 2328 m ascent
Overall place 6 (class place 3) for Michael Markolf
Overall place 13 (class place 3) for Michael Reisner
6st stage: Road race over 91 km with 1061 m altitude
At the beginning of the stage, the corratec team was asked by the tour leader's team if we wanted to work together in the strong winds again in order to be able to better control the race. We saw this almost as an "award" with which the team was able to secure and further improve the top positions of Michael Markolf and Martin Reisner in the tour classification. All team riders finished with the main group just behind the successful 3 breakaways
Total: 3rd place, as well as 1st place and yellow leader jersey in the category for Michael Markolf
2nd place in the category for Martin Reisner (and overall 9th place)
First team conclusion
It was really fun to compete in the Tour of Sardinia with the Corratec team, where everyone supported each other and everything was very well organized. The team had done a good team building at the start of the tour. New friendships were made, everyone was able to look forward to many successes and a successful conclusion to the tour. And this also encourages that the Corratec team can and will tackle the remaining races with confidence.