Lennard Kämna in a TOUR interview: "I had to understand that the pace was out of my life"
TOUR
· 28.04.2025
Interview: Stephan Klemm
Personal details: Lennard Kämna (Germany)
- Born: 9 September 1996 in Wedel
- Size: 1.81 metres
- Weight: 65 kilogrammes
- Place of residence: Bremen
- Professional since: 2015
- Teams: LV Brandenburg (2013-2014), Team Stölting (2015), Stölting Service Group (2016), Team Sunweb (2017-2019), BORA - hansgrohe (2020-2023), Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe (2024), Lidl - Trek (2025)
- Important successes: 2016 European U23 time trial champion, 2017 U23 World Championships runner-up, 2020 Tour de France stage win, Tour de France stage runner-up, Critérium du Dauphiné stage win, 2022 Giro d'Italia stage win, German time trial champion, Tour of the Alps stage win, Ruta del Sol stage win, 2023 Vuelta a España stage win, Vuelta a España stage runner-up, Tour of the Alps stage win
Interview with Lennard Kämna
TOUR: Mr Kämna, you started this year's season at the end of March at the Tour of Catalonia, almost exactly one year after Tirreno-Adriatico in March 2024, your last start in a cycling race. An accident in Tenerife in April 2024 threw you dramatically off course. What can you say about what happened?
Lennard Kämna: I was on the right-hand lane and on the descent from Mount Teide on Tenerife. To my right, there were parking bays for tourists who wanted to enjoy the view. A man approached one of them, overlooked me and hit me full on the side. I didn't faint as a result, but I've completely forgotten what happened. Because in the days after the accident, I was incredibly forgetful. I kept forgetting that I was in hospital and I kept forgetting why I was there in the first place. I was completely beside myself for five or six days.
TOUR: The forgetfulness was one consequence of the accident, others were rib fractures, a severe chest trauma, a bruised lung and a stay in intensive care. How long were you in hospital and how did you experience this time?
Lennard Kämna: I spent eight weeks in hospital, four of them in Tenerife and four in Hamburg. I first had to really understand that all the speed was out of my life, that I needed to rest and make sure that I got back on my feet properly so that I could lead a normal life. Thoughts of cycling or a life as a professional were far away during this time. However, I wasn't melancholy during this phase, nor was I sad, I was actually in a normal mood. Above all, it helped that my friend Ria was with me in Tenerife. And also my mum for the first week. They both stood by me, kept me busy and kept me happy. We went from one small programme item to the next: Coffee and cake, a walk in the corridor, an afternoon nap.
TOUR: And then we went to Hamburg. What did your daily routine look like there?
Lennard Kämna: I was there at the Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfalllinik, where I had fixed appointments during the day for my physical rehabilitation. That went from nine to three or four o'clock. My daily schedule was always very full. That was a good thing, because I made really good progress that way. During my stay in Hamburg, I had the feeling that I had made it, that I had overcome my injuries and that I was feeling well again.
TOUR: Was the step back onto the bike inevitable for you after your rehabilitation went so well for you?
Lennard Kämna: I was initially happy that I had made progress in restoring my general health. The thought was: great, I'm no longer restricted in all kinds of movements. The idea of doing sport again, or specifically cycling, came up quite soon afterwards. I was really looking forward to it.
TOUR: When did you get back on your bike for the first time?
Lennard Kämna: I was back on the saddle in mid-June 2024. But it wasn't until the end of October that I was able to train like a professional again. It was only then that I was able to lead the life of a competitive athlete.
TOUR: The accident was the third break in your career. Before that, you had taken time out once for health reasons and once for mental reasons. So far, you have come back very strongly each time. Does this experience give you confidence for your third comeback?
Lennard Kämna: Back then, I learnt very well what I had to do to go from low fitness to the performance of a professional athlete. Back then, I taught myself to train in a structured and intelligent way.
TOUR: How did you experience the first few kilometres on the bike after your accident?
Lennard Kämna: I immediately felt safe again, even in road traffic. I was sensitised, but not anxious or particularly reserved, but confident on the road. However, I was by no means one hundred per cent back to the person I was before the accident. It took a while for my body to feel so normal that I could sit on the bike completely pain-free. I've only had this feeling of complete liberation on the bike again since December or January. It took a really long time. The mind plays a huge role in this. I knew that everything had to be right before I felt really great on the bike again.
TOUR: During the rehabilitation period, did you think that your career might be over because of the consequences of the accident?
Lennard Kämna: I realised that my physical condition didn't allow for demanding movements at all at first. At first, there was also a thought buzzing around in my head that it might not work out with professional cycling. But I was always busy with my rehabilitation, so I didn't have time to develop negative scenarios.
TOUR: Did you want to race again in the second half of the year when you realised that you were going to make a comeback?
Lennard Kämna: The time wasn't right, the accident was still in my bones. I would have loved to be able to ride a few more races with my old colleagues. That would have been a great end. Ending your career with a team like mine is always a shame, especially when you've been there as long as I have.
TOUR: How did you experience your time with Ralph Denk's team?
Lennard Kämna: I initially had a relatively free hand there in terms of race planning. I was offered a very good racing programme in 2020, my first year, and I was able to give something back with my Tour stage win in Villard-de-Lans in the summer of 2020. In 2023, I was then able to ride the Giro for the overall classification.
TOUR: People close to you at the time say that you weren't able to complete the full preparation that cyclists usually go through. How did that affect you at the Giro?
Lennard Kämna: I can't say that the team did too little. The preparation was focussed on the Giro. After the Tour, we considered whether it made sense to continue promoting me as a classification rider or not. At the end of the year, we talked a lot and agreed that I would ride the Giro 2024 again for the overall classification. I think I would have been a bit stronger again, because in 2023 I fell ill in the last week, which cost me a few places. But then the accident intervened.
TOUR: And Primož Roglič somehow also came in between.
Lennard Kämna: Yes, Roglič was signed in October 2023. I originally wanted to ride the Tour in 2024. But it was clear after Roglič's signing that the team would back him there. That turned my race plan upside down a bit. That's why the Giro was set as my big goal. If everything had gone well, I would certainly have been an option for the Tour as a stage hunter. But well, that's all hypothetical.
TOUR: Did you have the support you wanted from your team during your rehabilitation?
Lennard Kämna: Definitely. The doctors in the team always felt like they were at my side. I had a direct line to two doctors, who I spoke to on the phone almost every day, and they were there to help me when I had questions or needed advice. A team doctor also came to see me twice to get a first-hand impression. As far as the medical care was concerned, I felt that I was in the best of hands and received excellent care.
TOUR: Does that also apply to the team leaders?
Lennard Kämna: Ralph Denk called me once at the clinic in Tenerife, as did Rolf Aldag and my coach Dan Lorang. I was also in contact with everyone around me.
Team change
TOUR: In the end, you decided to leave the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team. Ralph Denk says he would have liked to keep you.
Lennard Kämna: Everyone has their own view of things. However, I don't want to make a big deal out of it. It's fine the way it is and I'm very happy to be able to ride for Lidl-Trek now.
TOUR: How did you get involved with your new team?
Lennard Kämna: My contract with Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe expired at the end of 2024, so I was already looking around before my accident. That was a huge stroke of luck. If I hadn't done that before the accident, it would have been difficult. In the end, however, I had several teams to choose from and then decided in favour of Lidl-Trek.
TOUR: What spoke in favour of Lidl-Trek?
Lennard Kämna: I immediately sensed that they were keen to sign me up and that they were very interested in me. I was very flattered by that. They put a lot of responsibility in the hands of the drivers. Everyone is given their freedom. I immediately felt a great deal of trust - especially after the accident. They continued to believe in me afterwards, which is a great feeling.
TOUR: Is the trust that Lidl-Trek has placed in you important for your comeback?
Lennard Kämna: Absolutely, yes. I have all the more reason to feel that I will come back here, and with strong performances. I'm definitely putting one hundred per cent ambition into this project. But that's also the basis of everything, you have to be determined if, like me, you want to win bike races again. For me, it's like this: if I can show one hundred per cent in training, then I will also deliver strong performances in the races.
Tour de France 2025
TOUR: The Tour de France is your big goal this season. As a stage hunter?
Lennard Kämna: When I start, I want to present myself in top form, not just at the Tour, but at all races. If I don't have that, I feel out of place. Basically, however, it has been discussed with the team that I should first come back with adequate form in order to be fit for competition and make it into breakaway groups, that is the primary goal. There's no pressure on me. But I definitely want to be at the Tour. I'm in the extended squad, but that doesn't mean I'm seeded. However, if I do make it to the Tour, I won't be aiming for the overall classification this year, but will try to win a stage. That would be the dream scenario. When I won the Tour stage in Villard-de-Lans in 2020, that was huge for me. The ultimate for a rider like me.
TOUR: Do you no longer see yourself as a classification rider at the Tour?
Lennard Kämna: Not at the moment. I first need to get that classic racing feeling again and go stage hunting. After that, I'll see what's possible step by step.
TOUR: You have a special racing instinct. Can it be learnt?
Lennard Kämna: I do have a special instinct for running, that's true, but I don't know if I learnt it. It developed because I realised as a ten-year-old that I wasn't good at sprinting. That's why, from a young age, I always tried to outsprint the others in the races I entered. My riding style then developed from that. Has your sprinting ability improved in the meantime? I can sprint reasonably well for a mountain rider, but I'm still not really good in this discipline.
