Right next to them, Lisa Klein and Mieke Kröger were stubbornly fighting back tears. The Golden Girls stood in the middle of the huge oval on the high-speed track at Izu and didn't know what hit them. "It gives me goosebumps to stand up there. It's madness, we have to realise it first," said Brennauer after the women's express raced to gold in the team pursuit at the Olympic track cycling competitions in Izu with an almost unbelievable world record show.
Three races, three world records
Three races, three world records - the German women's foursome revived an old success story in German cycling. For decades, the men's foursome was synonymous with German perfection, now women's power reigns in the team. "We have enormous willpower, great team spirit and a really good mood. That has made it easier for us here," emphasised Klein.
When the high-speed run in the final against Great Britain stopped at an almost unbelievable 4:04.242 minutes, there was no holding back in the German camp. The British had dominated this distance for many years. Now they were almost overtaken by the German foursome, which was tantamount to humiliation. Kröger immediately gave the team the order to celebrate: "We will take everything we can. Who knows how many more times we'll be Olympic champions."
However, the quartet did not want to forget Gudrun Stock, who rode in Kröger's place at the World Championship bronze medal in Berlin 18 months ago. "Not a day goes by that we don't think of her. We miss her," said Brennauer. Stock had to cancel her trip to Japan due to an operation.
It was the first German Olympic triumph in the women's track endurance event since Petra Rossner in Barcelona in 1992. This was the second time that the German track cyclists were able to celebrate, after Emma Hinze and Lea Sophie Friedrich had won silver in the team sprint the day before.
Steady development since 2014
"A lot has happened in women's cycling. In the beginning, everything was a bit neglected and the women were ridiculed ten years ago. However, the level of performance has developed enormously," explained national coach André Korff, who has helped drive the development over the last eight years.
Gold in the women's quad - who would have thought that possible before the Summer Games? When the 4000-metre team pursuit was first added to the programme at the 2014 World Championships, the German team whizzed around the oval with a time of 4:43 minutes. By comparison, the British women were 20 seconds faster back then, which is an eternity in high-tech track cycling. Kröger was already there back then.
But at some point it clicked. "I can't believe the steps we've taken. I have to digest that first," said Kröger, referring to the arduous journey to the top. He had already won bronze at the World Championships in Berlin 18 months ago. And in the days leading up to Tokyo, the Golden Girls realised that even the world record was possible. The Siberian pine oval and the high temperatures were ideal for the BDR riders to chase records.
Harmony as a recipe for success
"It's just a harmony, we're quite good at it. When it's going, it's like you're on rails. You're so focussed, you only see the front wheel in front of you, you make yourself small and give it your all," says Klein, describing the rush of speed.
With all the German women's power in Izu, the men couldn't keep up. For the team sprinters Timo Bichler (Kaiserslautern), Stefan Bötticher (Chemnitz) and Maximilian Levy (Cottbus), the medal runs were out of reach, as they had been in Rio, finishing fifth in the Dutch gold coup.
And the men's four has also had to wait for an Olympic medal since the gold medal race in Sydney 21 years ago. German fours have won five Olympic medals and 16 world championship titles since 1962, which is gradually being forgotten. However, 3:48.861 minutes was still a German record, but not enough to win a medal. Because the other nations are rushing ahead. Italy, led by superstar Filippo Ganna, raced to a new fabulous time of 3:42.307 minutes and will now face Denmark in the final on Wednesday.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:210803-99-680279/12
