Fourth place at the end of her career: Brennauer without a happy ending

Shortly afterwards, she lifted her racing machine once again. Although without a happy ending, the seven-time world champion ended her illustrious career at the European Championships with another brilliant performance. In her final sprint, Brennauer finished a thankless fourth in the road race. After 128.3 kilometres from Landsberg to Munich, Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes took victory on Sunday in a sprint ahead of the two Italians Elisa Balsamo and Rachele Barbieri.

Successful title fights for Brennauer

Even if it wasn't enough to win another medal, Brennauer was still able to look back on successful title fights with gold in the track cycling four and silver in the single pursuit.

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"We had our eye on a medal, unfortunately it didn't quite work out, but we are still happy with the outcome of the race," said Brennauer, adding: "It was very emotional at the finish. The whole team hugged me and a few tears were shed. It will still take a while for me to realise that it's over now."

Brennauer's great career

Brennauer is retiring at the peak of her career. Last year, she won gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with the track cycling foursome, as well as the World Championship and European Championship titles. The German women's four with Brennauer, Lisa Klein, Franziska Brauße and Mieke Kröger was also named team of the year in Baden-Baden.

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After her career, Brennauer is still employed as a professional soldier in the German Armed Forces and wants to stay close to the sport. "I hope that I will have the opportunity to pass on a lot of my knowledge and experience," she said. A role as a coach is also conceivable. The German Cycling Federation would like to include her in the coaching team.

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