The possibly most exciting duel of the Championships which took place in Cottbus from September 3rd to 7th was the one between STEVENS-sponsored Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel. These two top sprinters, who as a team won the Olympic Gold Medal in London in 2012, had to compete against each other a full four times! In the Sprint, Keirin and Team Sprint Kristina Vogel was successful, Miriam Welte became German Champion 2014 in the 500 M Time Trial.
In a TV interview (Bericht des SWR) Welte said about their competitive relation: ”On the track we both just want to win, right after the race we can look in each other’s eye and everything is all right again.” Welte and Vogel even rode their warm up together, Welte using her STEVENS Ventoux, custom painted in 1. FC Kaiserslautern - her home club - team colors.
Third place behind the duos Vogel/Doreen Heinze and Welte/Emma Hinze was won by Lisa Happke of Team STEVENS Hytera who had teamed up with Alina Lange for the State of Northrhine-Westphalia All-State-Selection (NRW). Happke was also member of team NRW to win Bronze in the Team Sprint.
Other Bronze Medals were won by Team KED-STEVENS with Florian Kretschy, Sebastian Wotschke, Hans Pirius, Maximilian Beyer in the 4.000 M Team Pursuit and Tatjana Paller of Team maxx-Solar Cycling in the 3.000 M Single Pursuit.
Stefan Nimke, der erfolgreichste deutsche Bahnsportler der vergangenen 15 Jahre, errang auf seinem STEVENS Arena gemeinsam mit Henry Ober und Marc Schröder im Team Schwerin im Mannschaftssprint die Bronzemedaille. Im 1.000-Meter-Sprint belegte er den fünften Platz, mit wenigen Zehntelsekunden Rückstand auf die Medaillenränge. „So ein enges Finale gab es selten“, sagte Nimke tags darauf beim Besuch der STEVENS-Hausmesse in Hamburg.
Stefan Nimke, Germany’s most successful track cyclist during the last 15 years also won Bronze aboard his STEVENS Arena in the Team Sprint together with Henry Ober and Marc Schröder for Team Schwerin. He finished 5th in the 1.000 m Sprint, only some tenth-seconds behind podium ranks. ”It was a rare kind of finale.”, Nimke said a day later while visiting STEVENS’ in-house fair.
There absolutely was enough power to win, says Nimke. He might have lost his speed-strenght, decisive for a sprint victory, in June when riding the Race Across America, the 4.800 km (3.000 mls) coast-to-coast race through the USA. ”It was nice to finish third in the team competition. It was nice to have taken part in the German Championships and my German track record in the 1.000 M Sprint is still standing.”
In the near future Nimke will concentrate on tandem races, together with his visually impaired partner Kai Kruse, their aim being to compete in the 2016 Paralympics.
The German Championships ended with another highlight, the Madison, a two men team competition. Here, Maximilian Beyer, starting in the Federal Cycling league Series for KED-STEVENS, and Nico Heßlich could win Silver only a few points behind the powerful duo Leif Lampater/Marcel Kalz of the Maloja Pushbikers team.
