The year 2021 has held a number of events in store for German cycling. Deutsche Presse-Agentur looks back on successes, great emotions and a scandal.
Politt in Nîmes: On the 12th stage to Nîmes, Nils Politt summoned up all his courage and simply rode away. For the rider from Cologne, the stage win at the Tour de France was the most significant coup of his career to date. "It's a dream come true to win a Tour stage. It's the biggest victory you can get," said Politt. Team Germany made him captain at the World Championships in Flanders, but the hilly profile in Belgium was too demanding for the classics specialist.
Racism scandal surrounding MosterThe shouts of "camel driver" from sports director Patrick Moster on the biggest sporting stage at the Olympics left the German Cycling Federation (BDR) in serious need of an explanation. Moster had to leave during the Games and was banned by the UCI until the end of the year. He is expected to resume his duties at the BDR as planned at the start of 2022. Moster later apologised to the two athletes concerned for the racist words.
Two really big names leaveAndré Greipel brought cycling Germany many sprint victories, Tony Martin repeatedly won titles in the big individual time trials. The duo will retire from professional cycling at the end of 2021, Greipel at 39 and Martin at 36. For the "armoured car", as Martin is known, the farewell was a particularly ideal one: in his last race, he took gold once again in the mixed time trial at the World Championships. And bid farewell with applause from professional sport to life as a privateer and family man.
Gold women in RoubaixGold for the team sprint trio, the quad, for Emma Hinze, Lea Sophie Friedrich and Lisa Brennauer. At the World Track Championships in Roubaix, which ended on Sunday, the Germans couldn't stop celebrating. The team led by the gold medallists clearly topped the fantastic result from the home World Championships in Berlin. For Hinze and triple gold medallist Friedrich it was a consolation after the brief Olympic disappointment (one silver medal), Brennauer crowned an outstanding year with titles at the Olympics, Road World Championships, Track World Championships and European Track Championships.
Corona quarantine in Tokyo: There was a big shock on the opening day of the Games in Japan: Simon Geschke tested positive for coronavirus and had to go into quarantine immediately. He missed the road race and instead allowed fans and journalists to take part in his isolation digitally from then on. Before travelling back, he said: "End of the most useless journey of my career, super excited to come out of quarantine and fly home."
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