Pauline Grabosch (Erfurt), Lea Sophie Friedrich (Cottbus) and Alessa-Catriona Pröpster (Jungingen) were defeated in the final in 47.299 seconds by the Netherlands (46.551). Bronze went to Russia (46.795).
Dutch riders Shanne Braspennincx, Kyra Lamberink and Hetty van den Wouw set a world record in the final after breaking the old record in qualifying. Since last year, the women's team sprint has been held with three riders, just like the men's sprint; only at the Olympic Games did two riders form a team because the qualification was run in this mode.
After their Olympic victory in Tokyo, the German women's team is still on the road to success even without Lisa Brennauer (Durach) and Lisa Klein (Erfurt). The quartet with the Tokyo gold medallists Franziska Brauße (Eningen) and Mieke Kröger (Bielefeld) as well as the youngsters Laura Süßemilch (Oberhausen) and Lena Charlotte Reißner (Erfurt) won the qualification over 4000 metres in 4:18.655 minutes and can go for gold again on Wednesday. They will first face the Netherlands in the intermediate round.
In the men's team sprint, the newly formed trio of Nik Schröter (Cottbus), Marc Jurczyk (Erfurt) and Anton Höhne (Cottbus) finished sixth in 43.891 seconds. After winning gold at the Olympic Games and World Championships, the Dutch also secured the European Championship title in 42.302 seconds.
Kluge cancels European Championship start
Roger Kluge cancelled his start at the European Track Cycling Championships planned for Saturday. "My team needs me. I'm riding the classic Paris - Tours on Sunday," said the 35-year-old on his return journey from the Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke in Binche, where he was competing with the Belgian Lotto-Soudal team. After his crash in the Madison at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Kluge had toyed with the idea of competing in the European Championships with Theo Reinhardt (Berlin) in Switzerland. Both were world champions in the two-man team race in 2018 and 2019.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:211005-99-492931/2
