Track cycling: Between bad luck, success and strong competition - a look back at the Olympics

Let's be honest: expectations of the tiny German Olympic road cycling squad were muted from the outset; no more than respectable successes were to be expected, a chance coup could only be dreamed of in the quiet of the closet. The track cyclists of the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, on the other hand, travelled to Paris as co-favourites.

The 14-strong squad made full use of their starting places; the current world champions in the team sprint, Pauline Grabosch, Emma Hinze and Lea Sophie Friedrich, as well as the European Madison champions Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardtwere firmly planned as medal suppliers. The women's four-woman track team, Olympic champions in Tokyo 2021, had also set the goal in TOUR of at least finishing on the podium.

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Track cycling: Little appreciation for top performance?

The opening event, the women's team sprint, was promising. The German trio was only beaten by the eventual Olympic champions from New Zealand and the team from Great Britain. Five new world records were set during the competition, including one by the German women.

Pauline Grabosch was correspondingly euphoric about winning the bronze medal after her Olympic debut. "The team sprint was a very close competition and in the end it was a real showdown for the medals. We are super proud of bronze." Nevertheless, she added: "However, I think the reporting was unfair. Some media representatives spoke of bronze as a 'consolation prize'. I clearly feel there is a lack of appreciation for our performance and winning an Olympic medal."

Final disillusionment

After the successful start, the women's four in the team pursuit rolled up to the starting line with a lot of self-confidence - but at the end of the tournament, disillusionment set in for national coach André Korff and his protégés. After Lisa Brennauer's withdrawal from the Tokyo foursome, the team raced faster than ever before in the qualifying rounds, but with a time of 4:07.908 minutes over the 4000 metres, they were a full three and a half seconds down on the eventual winning quartet from the USA.

In track cycling, that's light years - a gap that pushed Franziska Brauße, Lisa Klein, Laura Süßemilch and Mieke Kröger into sixth place in the final standings. "We were well prepared to the point, skied faster than ever before in Paris in this constellation, but then had a bit of bad luck. I had corona two weeks before the competition and Laura crashed in training. Certainly not the best way to be able to perform to the maximum. We also didn't expect other nations to be able to race so fast," summarised Brauße, who also competed in the Madison and Omnium.

The competition is gaining ground

In the men's sprint disciplines, the athletes have been struggling for some time to keep up with the competition from leading nations such as the Netherlands and Australia. In the endurance events, on the other hand, expectations had also risen significantly within the federation before the Olympics. Men's national coach Sven Meyer had deliberately positioned the foursome for the team pursuit tactically and nominated the veterans Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt, as the Olympic nomination criteria stipulated that the participants in the mass start races also had to take part in the foursome in the team pursuit.

The German team of Kluge, Reinhardt, Tobias Buck-Gramcko and Tim Torn Teutenberg finished ninth in the qualifiers and missed out on a place in the next round. However, the actual plan was: "A medal for the two of them in the Madison was definitely possible and also our goal," said the national coach.

Bad luck in the fall

However, after Theo Reinhardt's heavy crash on the 20th of 200 laps, the plan was cancelled. Reinhardt crashed through no fault of his own because a New Zealand rider overtook on the left in a breakaway against all rules in the Madison. Kluge then had to ride on alone to keep the team in the race. More than fifth place was not possible for the German duo under these circumstances.

"The result is disappointing for us," said the national coach. "The two boys have worked extremely hard over the past year and were also in good form. The step forward, especially at their age, was once again clearly recognisable and we made the best possible use of our resources. I've never seen Theo crash so badly. It's extremely bitter when the race is so badly affected by someone else's fault. But we knew beforehand that with the same form on the day, first to eighth place could be possible in such a tight competition. That's just Madison."

Roger and Theo have worked extremely hard. The step forward, especially at their age, was once again clearly recognisable. - Sven Meyer, national coach

Track cycling at the Olympics: A conciliatory end

Even if the expectations fuelled by the team sprinters' dream start remained largely unfulfilled, the last day of Olympic competition brought things full circle in a conciliatory way. 24-year-old Lea Sophie Friedrich set an interim world record in the individual sprint and crowned her Olympic participation with a silver medal shortly afterwards. This made the Cottbus native the most successful athlete of the German Cycling Federation in Paris. For 38-year-old Roger Kluge and 33-year-old Theo Reinhardt, the Games in Paris could possibly be their last Olympic appearance; both are in the autumn of their careers. They will probably be replaced by younger riders.

But how does the BDR react to the facts in Paris and the realisation that German track cycling as a whole is in danger of losing ground internationally? After the Games, sports director Patrick Moster told the federation's press service that they had got away with a black eye, but: "If the general conditions in German elite sport do not improve, we will find ourselves in broad mediocrity in the future. We already can't keep up with other nations because the funding is too low."

He thus joins the chorus of many who criticised sports funding in Germany as a whole after the Olympics - and not just in the cycling association. However, it would also have been interesting to find out whether and where the officials of the national governing body see potential for improvement in their own ranks.

Interview with Mieke Kröger: "We can't go any faster at the moment"

Mieke Kröger experienced her third Olympic Games in Paris and is a constant in the team pursuit on the track. In this interview, she explains why she didn't manage to win a medal this time after her Olympic victory in Tokyo three years ago.

TOUR: After your Olympic victory in Tokyo, you finished sixth with the foursome in the team pursuit in Paris. What is your personal verdict?

Mieke Kröger: Personally, I can say that I gave it my all three times, with five laps in the lead each time. That was certainly a challenge, but I simply had to face up to this responsibility.

TOUR: Were your long guided tours not planned at all?

Mieke Kröger: Our tactics, which were very successful in Tokyo, were somewhat limited this time. The plan was actually for Laura Süßemilch to take two leads in third position. However, it was clear from the training days beforehand that this would not work in the race. So Franzi Brauße and I had to take longer leads, which meant that the workload was more unevenly distributed than originally planned.

Reasons for missing out on the medal

TOUR: Is that one of the reasons why you ultimately missed out on a medal by just under four seconds?

Mieke Kröger: Yes, of course. The nations that were on the podium are much more evenly matched than we are. We simply can't go any faster in the current constellation. I have to accept that, even though I would certainly have wished for more than sixth place. If we had wanted to compete for a medal, we would have had to go two tenths faster per lap. That definitely requires a second lead on the third lap. Lisa Klein took on the challenge of riding on two with flying colours and also delivered. But a Lisa Brennauer in this position can only replace a Lisa Brennauer. Compensating for that is the task of the entire foursome!

TOUR: Laura Süßemilch was replaced by Lena Reißner in the race for fifth place. Looking back, was it a mistake not to back Reißner from the start?

Mieke Kröger: "It was not foreseeable in the training months before that Laura would only be able to take a lead in qualifying and round one. She seemed stronger than Lena in training. But Lena has now shown once again that she is a competitive type and can deliver to the point. That makes us stronger for the future.

View of the 2028 Olympics

TOUR: Paris was your third Olympic Games. Will we see you again in the women's four in Los Angeles in four years' time?

Mieke Kröger: It's difficult to plan so far in advance, but I definitely still want to continue. However, I no longer see myself in a professional road team. The preparation for Paris confirmed that it is less stressful and also more conducive to performance for me to prepare for track highlights without road races. In addition to my job in the German army, I can well imagine completing long-term internships in the trades in the future. At best, these could then count towards an apprenticeship after my career. And one thing is certain for me: I certainly won't go to all that trouble again to compete for fifth or sixth place in Los Angeles!