The German mixed relay team fell well short of the medal they had hoped for at the Road Cycling World Championships in Montreal. Maximilian Walscheid, Nikias Arndt, Jasha Sütterlin, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Antonia Niedermaier and Franziska Koch finished in fifth place at the end of the 40.6-kilometre course. They were 29 seconds behind the third-placed team from Switzerland.
“Of course you’re disappointed. But if someone has a mechanical problem, there’s nothing you can do about it. These things happen,” said Niedermaier. Bauernfeind’s chain had come off early on, meaning the German women had to ride almost the entire course as a pair.
Italy clinched the title with an eight-second lead over France. The Germans are actually no strangers to success in this discipline. They won the title in 2021, took silver in 2024 and 2019, and bronze in 2023. The drama in Zurich two years ago remains unforgettable, when they missed out on gold by just 0.85 seconds. In 2025, they missed out on a medal due to various illnesses.
Arndt and Bauernfeind are having the building demolished
The two German trios had to continue the race as pairs quite early on. Neither Arndt nor Bauernfeind could keep up with their team-mates’ pace any longer. “It’s always a tough pill to swallow. But it can always happen that a rider can’t keep up,” said Arndt. “It’s a very technical course, and the road conditions were poor in places. The good thing is that you can still manage the course quite well as a pair.”
At the handover, the German team were 16 seconds behind the bronze medallists and already 28 seconds behind the gold medallists. Their hopes rested on the strong women’s trio, which included Koch, who had won bronze in the individual event. However, early on in the race, Bauernfeind was forced to drop back due to a mechanical fault, which ruined their tactics.
Although Koch put in a strong performance, particularly in the final section, that alone wasn’t enough. “I was already at my limit after just three kilometres, and when there are two of you, the recovery periods get shorter. We’ll have to see what we can do better next time,” said Koch.
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