A look behind the scenes: "The Swallows" at the European Championships in Munich

Can Munich be described as a cycling city? If you look at the number of active cyclists and clubs, the answer is clearly "yes". However, if you look at racing, the answer is different. Almost all the licensed races have disappeared, the plan for an amateur race has failed due to a lack of support in the city and surrounding area, and professional cycling has not been a guest in the state capital for a long time. The European Championships were therefore a great opportunity: the active racing bike scene and professional cycling came together for a short time - also thanks to the help of R.C. Die Schwalben 1894 München e.V.

European Championships: the velodrome in Munich-Riem

The brief resurrection as a cycling city is visualised at the exhibition centre in Munich-Riem, where a bare hall was transformed into a velodrome in just ten days. A few days before the start of the European Championships, eight cyclists stand in the interior of exhibition hall C 1 and gaze in awe at the spotlessly clean, light-coloured wooden surface of the velodrome, which will be dismantled again after the title fights. But now it's time for the first test ride. Robert Klimsa, board member of the Schwalben, his daughter Paulina, his son Luis and other members as well as two riders from friendly clubs check the tyre pressure of their track bikes once again and adjust their jerseys.

The test riders do their laps just before the UCI commissioners take over the track. They all come back with a big grin on their faces. Opening the venue for the European Track Cycling Championships yourself definitely falls under the heading of "priceless dreams". "You can still feel the dust, and after the bends it rumbles a bit," says Robert Klimsa. This may be due to the fact that, at 200 metres, the track is around 50 metres shorter than usual and particularly fast. But the test drive did not reveal any real shortcomings - the track is ready for great sport!

On 12 August, the track will see its first high-speed final at the European Championships. Lisa Brennauer, Franziska Brauße, Mieke Kröger and Lisa Klein have to compete against Italy in the team pursuit final. Among the many volunteers are also helpers from the Swallows - they operate the starting machines, distribute start numbers and monitor the interior. The fans watch with excitement as Germany initially lags behind by more than a second and then slowly catches up. "The spectators are really excited, even though there are only 1500 seats in the exhibition hall," comments Florian Naß on the race on ARD. "Italy clearly in the lead," was the comment after the halfway point, but when Mieke Kröger took the lead after 2500 metres, the tide turned. With a lead of just a few hundredths, the German foursome finally secures the European Championship title - the volunteers also applaud.

European Championships - the hall is boiling

The track has passed the test, and Paulina Klimsa has also played a part in its success. The 22-year-old Schwalbe rider has been working as a Sports and Competition student trainee for the European Championships for two years. The multiple German track champion brought the athlete's perspective to the planning and was surprised that many of her ideas were taken on board: "It was cool that I was allowed to have such a say as a small working student." From her own experience, she knows, for example, that a tunnel is a more pleasant way to access the interior than a bridge over the railway, which casts shadows. Now she is thrilled that the railway has been built "like on a shoebox" and allows a tunnel into the interior. "I was a bit glassy-eyed when the ride was built and I saw it for the first time."

Now her fingers are still wet from crossing her fingers: The team sprint at the European Championships with Emma Hinze, Pauline Grabosch and Lea Sophie Friedrich is about to begin. Germany lives up to its role as favourites - Friedrich saves a lead of just under two hundredths to the finish line and secures gold. Paulina Klimsa and Lea Sophie Friedrich embrace on the way to the award ceremony. They raced together in the track squad for a long time and are still best friends. "This is something special for me," says Paulina. The hall is boiling and applauding the second gold medal of the day for Germany. It is particularly pleasing because the three young riders show that new, high-calibre talent has emerged.

Mutual dependence

Without racing there would be no young talent, and without young talent there would be no racing - that's how you could summarise the interdependence. Schwalbe board member Robert Klimsa, for whom the racing tradition of his club is particularly important, also knows this. He has been a club member since 1981 and experienced the times when there were still many bike races in and around Munich. He wistfully remembers when the club still had a key to the track in the Olympic cycling stadium. Today, the Swallows have to travel to Augsburg for track training, and the distances to licensed races on the road have also become longer.

The long list of active Schwalbe junior riders and amateurs shows that the club's work still works. With the Munich Super Cross, the club has even established a new cross-country race. The race has been running since 2014 and fulfils three functions in exemplary fashion: It offers young athletes with a licence a performance comparison, amateur athletes become aware of the club and top international sport comes to Munich. The Super Cross organisation team is involved in many aspects of the European Championships.

Robert Klimsa is also standing inside as a volunteer while the next race, the 4000 metre men's single pursuit, is on the track. Klimsa is particularly excited about this race: German Nicolas Heinrich is only 20 years old, and even making it to the final was a great success. Now the young man from Zwickau is even fighting for the title against the Italian Davide Plebani, winning by three seconds in the end.

The spectators celebrate the newly crowned European champion frenetically. Robert Klimsa is also thrilled and is reminded of the long line of successful young athletes who learnt the basics of cycling with the Swallows - one of the most famous is former Telekom pro Andreas Klier, now Sports Director of the EF Education-Easypost World Tour team. Although there have been fewer races recently during the coronavirus period, more young people have taken up cycling, especially mountain biking. The club currently has 185 members, compared to around 100 in previous decades. The youngsters train twice a week on the road, regularly on the race track in Augsburg and, of course, off-road on crossers or mountain bikes.

Paulina Klimsa also knows the junior stations well: from the schoolboy, youth and junior to the U23 class, she has racing successes on the road, track and off-road. The basis for this was the Schwalben's work with young talent, which includes supervised training as well as travelling to races. In 2018, she competed as an U23 rider at the Track World Championships and the European Track Championships - at the time alongside Lea Sophie Friedrich and Lea Lin Teutenberg. They then parted ways athletically, with Paulina opting for university instead of sport. She is therefore particularly pleased that she is now part of the home European Championships in a different role.

Suddenly boss

That could be said in a nutshell about Paulina's job at the European Championships. The 22-year-old is responsible for 20 to 25 volunteers - her father Robert also reports to her. She greets the volunteers in the morning, explains the day's programme, distributes tasks and tries to find solutions to any queries. Like now, when two volunteers ask for bin bags to tidy up the interior of the railway. "I found it difficult to give people orders at first," she admits. Volunteering is not only the backbone of the club's work, but also of the European Championships. Seven club members are helping on this afternoon, and swallows are also helping at the other cycling races.

TOUR was there: Time trial in the team car at the European Championships

European Championships: Advertising for cycling

Like Roman Stoffel, who supports the men's and women's time trials and road races at the European Championships. He is the sporting director for the Swallows - at the European Championships he rides the timekeeping motorbike, while club colleague Dominik Böke on the pillion holds up the black slate on which the time intervals are noted in chalk for the racers. There is hardly a metre of the route without spectators: "I had the impression that in every village, everyone who lives there was standing by the road and clapping," says Roman Stoffel, describing his impressions.

On the closed twelve kilometres through Munich's city centre, the crowds get thicker and thicker, the atmosphere louder and louder. While the Austrian Lukas Pöstlberger and the Swiss Silvan Dillier fly towards the finish, Stoffel shuttles between the peloton and the breakaway on his motorbike. "I usually only know bike races from a rider's perspective. This was a very special experience for me," says Stoffel. "The great thing was that the spectators cheered for everyone from the first support vehicle to the rider who was left behind."

European Championships - Positive feedback

The verdict on the European Championships is unanimously positive - especially in cycling. From a sporting perspective, the European Track Championships were a particular success, with Germany being the most successful federation with eight gold, four silver and one bronze medal. Although there were no victories on the road, the spectator turnout was sensational: around 200,000 people lined the route for the men's road race and 150,000 for the women's race. "There is no better advertisement for cycling," emphasised Roman Stoffel.

For the Swallows, the European Championships were a home game, where cycling in Munich finally experienced great popularity again: "The enthusiasm exceeded all expectations. It showed that Munich really is a cycling city and that the city is ready for more," says a delighted Stoffel. For example, he would like to see a new cycling race and more funding. Schwalbe board member Robert Klimsa also agrees, as he knows how important events are for young cyclists. He hopes that the European Championships will give a boost to all of Munich's cycling clubs. And daughter Paulina has discovered completely new career prospects through her involvement in the European Championships: Not only riding on the track, but also helping with the organisation is really fun.