By Stefan Tabeling, dpa
The training rides through the narrow streets of Shanghai are still a bit unusual, but Lea Sophie Friedrich is nevertheless really looking forward to the World Championships. “I’d certainly like to make it onto the podium. I set a new personal best in training. I’m roughly at the same level as I was at the Olympics,” the two-time medallist from Paris told the German Press Agency ahead of the track cycling championships, which begin on Wednesday in the Chinese metropolis.
Friedrich already has eight World Championship titles to her name; from a German perspective, only Kristina Vogel (11) has won more. However, she has not added to that tally in the past two years. In 2024, the 26-year-old took a break from the World Championships following the Olympics, and last year she came away empty-handed in Colombia.
Return home
A lot has changed in the sprinter’s life since then. Together with her training group – which includes fellow sprinter Pauline Grabosch and coach Bill Huck – she has moved from Cottbus back to her home town of Schwerin. “I hadn’t felt very comfortable in Cottbus for several years now, because I was always away from home so much. I simply missed being with my family. Now, for example, I can pop round to see my gran at short notice during the week,” explains the Dassow native.
It’s a move fraught with obstacles, as the completion of the track in Schwerin has been delayed. The roof is missing, and the steel construction firm originally commissioned experienced delivery problems. The track is now not expected to be finished until the end of 2027 at the earliest. In an effort to speed things up, Friedrich even took matters into his own hands and contacted steel construction firms himself. “Naturally, you’re a bit more motivated to do something for your own hometown. Several firms – I think there were two that I wrote to – actually applied for the job,” said Friedrich.
Until the hall is finished, Friedrich has to commute. Road and strength training take place in Schwerin, whilst the rest is done on the track in Frankfurt/Oder. It’s not an ideal situation, although their good training times confirm that they made the right decision. A cycling team is also set to be founded in Schwerin from 2027, and Friedrich and his team are still looking for sponsors for this. “You’re creating a group of role models – it’s the Champions League of track cyclists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and naturally you want to be part of it,” Tom Rogall, president of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Cycling Association, told NDR.
Friedrich is missing Emma Hinze
Cottbus has left Friedrich behind, even though they are missing Emma Hinze – as a colleague, rival and friend. “Yes, very much so,” says Friedrich. Together, they won silver in Tokyo and bronze in Paris, as well as four World Championship titles in the team sprint; Hinze has since become the mother of a son.
“You really do notice the difference now that she’s not part of the whole set-up; you could simply rely on her during competitions, on her performances, and she was just someone who motivated me whilst also being a respected rival,” says Friedrich: “I always wanted to be faster than her and she always wanted to be faster than me, and that really spurred us on in a way. But she’s already spoken to me and said she wants to come back too.”
It is rather doubtful whether the team will be reunited in time for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. For Friedrich, LA 2028 is the big goal. An Olympic gold medal is still missing from her collection. She has already put in a convincing performance on the track during a test event this summer. However, the competition has also stepped up its game. In the team sprint – where Hinze has been replaced by Clara Schneider – the German team is clocking faster times than in the world championship years leading up to the 2026 Olympics. “We’re getting faster and faster, but the other nations are getting faster too,” says Friedrich. The next showdown is already coming up on Wednesday in Shanghai.
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