By Stefan Tabeling, dpa
Lennard Kämna has "a lot of desire" for the Giro d'Italia. This may only be a side note for a professional cyclist, but for the highly talented man from Wedel it is worth a mention.
A year ago, the former junior world champion had taken time out due to mental problems, and it was only after almost nine months that he returned in February. A few weeks later, he won a stage again at the Ruta del Sol and at the Giro opener in Hungary, the 25-year-old was in an attacking mood as if he had never been away.
An attack at the start of the race, which terrified the field, and an eighth place in the time trial in Budapest were good for "self-confidence", but also documented the great potential of Kämna, who has big plans for the three weeks: "When I'm in a breakaway group, there are always opportunities to win. I have set myself the goal of chasing stages." Sporting director Rolf Aldag, who thinks a lot of him, believes he can do this: "Lenni has freedom, he has a racing instinct. You have to let Lenni do his thing. It doesn't make much sense to discuss things with him in advance. He even knows better on the bike," said Aldag on Eurosport.
Kämna: "Desire" rediscovered
Kämna's furious stage win at the 2020 Tour de France, when he rode away from Olympic champion and former Giro winner Richard Carapaz on the way to Villard-de-Lans, was not the first time he was seen as a great promise for the future. But after that, things went quiet again. Kämna got off his bike and no longer wants to talk about it. "If I was completely dry, I'd say I didn't feel like it anymore," Kämna said at the beginning of the year. He had already struggled with similar problems at Team Sunweb.
He rediscovered his passion at the Cape Epic, a mountain bike race in South Africa. "I rode there just for fun, without any pressure to perform," Kämna recently told "Sport-Bild" and added: "But when I saw how the other riders were fighting for victory, it got back into me too.Legs tingling. That was a sign: Now it's time to really get going again." He found mechanisms for not letting sporting failures get him down. A sports psychologist also helped him.
Team-mate Dumoulin "fit as a fiddle"
Kämna is not an isolated case in cycling. Former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin, with whom he rode together at Team Sunweb, also took a longer break. He is also in contact with the Dutchman via WhatsApp. "A great rider, an absolute champion," enthuses Kämna: "From what I've heard of him, he's definitely in top form. He'll be in good form."
Dumoulin made it to the top of the world rankings, and many experts believe Kämna can do the same. Strong in the mountains, plus an excellent time trialist - at 1.81 metres tall and weighing just 65 kilograms, the North German actually has everything it takes to finish at the front of the race. However, a captain's role is not yet planned for Kämna this season, and team boss Ralph Denk does not want to build up that much pressure.
In Italy, Kämna will also be providing assistance for his three captains Emanuel Buchmann, Wilco Kelderman (Netherlands) and Jai Hindley (Australia). He has "a good feeling" about Buchmann, says Kämna. "He makes a fit impression and looks very well-trained." That also applies to Kämna.
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