Cycling
Foursome wins first World Cup medal since 2002 – “Really keen”
National coach Meyer can be happy about winning bronze at the World Cup. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
The long wait for a medal in what was once Germany’s flagship discipline is over after 22 years. The German foursome wins bronze. The women can cheer too.
When the long wait for a World Cup medal finally came to an end after 22 years, Tim Torn Teutenberg and Co. threw their arms up in overjoyance on the wooden oval. The men’s track cycling four won a World Cup medal for the first time in 22 years. The quartet with Benjamin Boos, Teutenberg, Ben Felix Jochum and Bruno Kessler won the 4000 meter team pursuit in the small final in the Ballerup Super Arena near Copenhagen in 3:52.707 minutes against the Japanese team, who even fell in the last lap .
“We were all really keen to get the medal. There was a little pressure after we found out that there had been no medal for the foursome in 22 years. So the relief and joy is of course really great now,” said Teutenberg Youngster Jochum added: “It couldn’t have gone better. I think this medal will give us a long-term boost and help us on the way to the Olympic Games in LA.” The 20-year-old wasn’t even born when Germany won its last medal in what was once Germany’s flagship discipline.
Medal also for the women’s foursome
The German team was able to celebrate two medals on the second day. The German women’s foursome also made a remarkable comeback and even made it to the grand final. The team with Lisa Klein, Franziska Brauße, Laura Süßemilch and Mieke Kröger defeated their rivals Italy on the way to the final with a time of 4:11.602 minutes. The team, which still includes three riders from the 2021 Olympic victory in Tokyo, Klein, Brauße and Kröger, turned a deficit of more than three seconds into a victory in the furious last kilometer.
The German team had hoped for a medal among the women, but the success among the men came as a surprise. “I’m especially pleased that our young athletes like Bruno Kessler and Ben Felix Jochum took advantage of their opportunity. Of course we also had a bit of luck on our side, but nobody asks about that later. The long dry spell is over,” said National coach Sven Meyer, who also used Leipzig’s Felix Groß in the first two runs. Germany benefited from World Cup bronze in Denmark from Olympic champion Australia not starting and from a fall by Olympic third-placed Italy in the first round.
Foursomes were once a guarantee of medals
The foursome was once a German success story. German teams have won five Olympic victories and 16 world championship titles in the past. At the Olympic triumph in Sydney in 2000, Robert Bartko and Co. were the first team to break the four-minute sound barrier. However, the downward trend began in 2002, and in the past some people even missed out on taking part in the Olympics. The final stop in qualifying was in Paris.
