The 3rd German Gravel Championship powered by ROSE made its first stop in Saxony last weekend. In Taura near Torgau on Sunday, around 180 participants battled it out for the national title in the up-and-coming gravel sport. In summery conditions, Paul Voß defended his previous year's title in a thrilling race, while Rosa Maria Klöser took a commanding victory in the women's race. The championships were the highlight of a cycling weekend that had already begun on Saturday with three amateur races over various distances. 81 gravel bikers took part in the DM men's race and 23 in the women's race.
In the men's German Gravel Championship race over the challenging 150-kilometre distance, an exciting duel developed at the top. Defending champion Paul Voß finally came out on top by a wafer-thin margin in a time of 4 hours, 31 minutes and 58.53 seconds. Tim Wollenberg crossed the finish line almost at the same time in second place (4:31:58.85 hours). The podium was completed by Frederik Rassmann, who crossed the finish line just one second later with a time of 4 hours, 31 minutes and 59.18 seconds.
Klöser confirms role as favourite
In the women's competition, the favourite Rosa Maria Klöser gave the competition no chance on the 120-kilometre course. The Unbound winner crossed the finish line after 4 hours, 1 minute and 46 seconds, thus securing the German championship title in superior style. Second place went to Katharina Palm, multiple German champion in the team time trial, with a time of 4 hours, 4 minutes and 21 seconds. Romy Kasper completed the podium with a gap of over three minutes (4:07:35 hours) to the winner. The German Olympic track cycling champion Lisa Klein finished in eighth place - the German Gravel Championships were delighted to have prominent female starters.
The official starting signal for the German Gravel Championships was given by the mayor of Belgern-Schildau, Ingolf Gläser. Among the participants was Thorben Haushahn, who supports the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e. V. (BDR) in the area of marketing and acts as coordinator for the gravel sector.
German Gravel Championship with mass sport events
On Saturday, three races for everyone took place in Taura over distances of 30, 60 and 100 kilometres. These popular sporting events were very popular with over 550 participants. Particularly noteworthy was the participation of paracyclist Jan Wiedemann, who tackled the challenging 100-kilometre route. In addition to numerous German amateur athletes, there were also international starters at the start, which emphasises the growing importance of gravel sports.
German Gravel Championship Future prospects
The successful premiere of the German Gravel Championships in Saxony could have lasting effects for the region. Project manager Friedemann Trepte was satisfied after the event: "We are proud that we were able to bring the German Gravel Championships to Saxony for the first time - and that so many athletes provided great sport," he said. "The weekend showed just how fascinating gravel sport is - from professionals to amateur athletes."
Mayor Ingolf Gläser also emphasised the region's potential for future cycling events: "This weekend has impressively shown that Taura and the entire region are predestined for high-calibre cycling events. We want to continue to host events in the future and establish the region as an attractive destination for gravel sports."
Kristian Bauer
Editor
