Lennard Kämna in a TOUR interview: "I want to leave my mark on the races"
Andreas Kublik
· 24.10.2022
Interview: Andreas Kublik
TOUR: Lennard, the German fans haven't seen you racing for a long time - since you dropped out after the 15th stage of the Tour de France in mid-July. Where have you been?
Kämna: I took a break after the tour, as planned. I then had problems with my hip and groin. I still started in one race (abandonment at the Coppa Sabatini in mid-September; editor's note). But I simply realised that my fitness wasn't up to scratch last season. We did a lot of rehab - things are looking good now. I'm assuming that I'll start the new season as normal again.
Click through: The World Tour victories of Bora-Hansgrohe 2022
TOUR: The strain of combining the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France was very high for you. Was it too much?
Kämna: It was definitely an experience and I had a lot of fun riding the two Grand Tours back-to-back. But I probably won't do it again next year. I had a lot of race days: 64 - within a relatively short period (63 of them from February to July; editor's note). Overall, it was a good season for me - I'm very satisfied.
TOUR: What was the best moment of the year for you - your stage win on Mount Etna at the Giro d'Italia?
Kämna: I would say: the moment when Jai crossed the finish line at the Giro after the last stage, the individual time trial, and we were able to celebrate together as a team and stand on the podium together. That was really nice, it was really fun.
Kämna happy about Hindley's Giro victory
TOUR: It was nicer to celebrate the overall Giro victory with team-mate Jai Hindley in the Arena in Verona than your own success, the stage win?
Kämna: Definitely! It's not that often in a cyclist's life that you're part of a team that wins a Grand Tour. I'm very, very happy about that.
TOUR: In the TOUR interview (issue 9 / 2022), Hindley praised your outstanding work on the final mountain stage with the summit finish at Passo Fedaia. After a long day in the breakaway on the ride through the Dolomites, you prepared Hindley's attack against Richard Carapaz - it was the foundation stone for overall victory. What motivated you to do this feat of strength?
Kämna: There are probably one or two moments in a career when you have to think about it: Am I driving selfishly now or would I rather be a good teammate (team-mate; editor's note) who tries to do the best for the team? It was absolutely clear that day: if Jai feels good, I will give everything for him. During the race, I discussed with the car (with the sporting directors in the support vehicle; editor's note) what the idea was. In the end, it was just intuition what I did. It just happened. It was a lot of fun to help - it was a great moment.
Kämna about leaving the Tour de France
TOUR: What was the toughest moment in 2022?
Kämna: I rode a lot of good races and was often there when the atmosphere in the team was good. There were few real downs. Apart from the spring, after I was coronavirus positive in March - but without severe symptoms. The low point was dropping out of the tour due to a really stubborn case of bronchitis. I was already on the road to recovery when I pulled out. But when you realise that four really tough mountain stages are coming up and you know you can't get anything out of it, you can't really help any more, just ride along - then the decision to go home was the right one. It still hurts - I would have liked to have finished the Tour.
TOUR: You were originally also scheduled to compete at the World Championships in Australia at the end of September?
Kämna: Yes, I originally had the goal of riding there, especially because of the time trial - I want to work on that more. But because of the injury, it wasn't possible to train on the time trial bike, because that would have been hard on the muscle that was spinning around. That's why we cancelled it.
Enthusiastic about the Cape Epic
TOUR: What's next? Are there any more projects like last year, when you took part in the Cape Epic mountain bike stage race in South Africa in autumn?
Kämna: I can imagine doing it again. It was really fun. And in terms of the risk of falling, it's not a bit more dangerous than a Belgian classic. But the Cape Epic normally takes place in March and is therefore not compatible with the road season. That's why it's not planned for the next few years.
TOUR: What is the fascination of mountain bike racing?
Kämna: It was just something different. Next time I would perhaps approach it with more ambition - I would want to be fitter at the start. Both are great - but I tend to enjoy road cycling even more.
TOUR: You are now 26 years old and have been able to explore your abilities in professional cycling a little. Looking ahead - what is your cycling project for 2023?
Kämna: We definitely have a few projects planned. We will certainly start projects towards the GC (overall classification; editor's note). We will discuss exactly what we will do in the coming weeks.
Kämna about classification ambitions
TOUR: It's clear to see: You like to ride aggressively, offensively, entertainingly and successfully. At the same time, there is always the question, especially in Germany: Don't we have a great talent in Lennard Kämna for the overall classification of a three-week tour? Classification riding often also means holding back, riding rather defensively. How does that fit in with your preferences?
Kämna: I always try to drive aggressively! It wouldn't be easy for me to accept just riding along. I would hate to become a GC driver if I realised that I was racing for tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth place. That wouldn't satisfy me. That would really just be riding along - you can't shape anything. Then I'd rather go on the attack. In my dreams, I want to be able to put my stamp on a race, to make my mark. But I'm not there yet.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
