Men’s European Championship Preview
European Road Championship 2020 Final | Photo: Cor Vos
08/13/2022 | (rsn) – The European Road Race, which was held for the first time in 2016, has now established itself in the calendar. For the second time, the continental championships will be held as part of the European Championships, a multisports event that will bring together the European championships of nine Olympic sports in Munich from August 11 to 21 – including athletics, mountain climbing, rowing and beach volleyball. .
The multi-sport format celebrated its premiere in Glasgow in 2018, and the second edition was held in the Bavarian capital. The men’s road race is the first of four road races. The men’s and women’s time trials follow on Wednesday, and the women’s road race is on the final day.
The start signal for the men’s race of 209.4 kilometers will be given at 10:15 am at Murnau am Staffelsee, about 80 kilometers south of Munich. First, the route runs through the foothills of the Alps, which consists of one or more climbs – among others, it goes up to the Kesselberg, an incline of about eight percent, which is available on the road map after 15 kilometers.
The road then leads to Lake Walchensee via Bad Tölz to Lake Starnberg, where after 95 kilometers a short mountain with a gradient of up to 18 percent awaits. From Starnberg we headed towards Munich. Via Olympiastraße, the driver reaches the 13-kilometer circuit through the city center, which must be mastered five times. The finish is at Odeonsplatz. Difficult terrain is no longer to be found in the second half of the race. Accordingly, EM should end with a lot of movement.
The German team started with a double lead
The German team is prepared for this situation by two drivers: the 8-man team led by the runners Pascal Ackermann (Team UAE Emirates) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain – Victory). “We have two riders at the start who are in good shape, who have both chances. That makes us unpredictable for the race,” Jens Zemke, sports director of the German team, said in a statement from the Bund Deutscher Fahrrad (BDR. ).
Ackermann and Bauhaus each recently won the Tour of Poland stage. In addition to the leading pair, the German team also includes Road Captain John Degenkolb, Nico Denz (both DSM), Roger Kluge, Michael Schwarzmann (both Lotto Soudal), Alexander Krieger (Alpecin – Deceunick) and German champion Nils Politt (Bora. — hansgrohe).
One of the favorites is the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), who has a strong team of assistants on the white side.
Italy wanted the other team to be in control
The Belgians travel to Munich with Tim Merlier (Alpecin – Deceunick) as captain, the French team relies on Arnaud Démare (Groupama – FDJ), but has two other fast players in Hugo Hofstetter (Arkea – Samsic) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis). Team. Norway is at the starting point where the former European champion Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert), the Irishman is sending Sam Bennett (Bora – hansgrohe) into the race. Denmark relies on former world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek – Segafredo), who can rely on the excellent rider Michael Morkov (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl).
The recent European Championship was firmly in Italy’s hands. Last year Sonny Colbreli won the Trento home game, in the last three years his compatriots Giacomo Nizzolo, Elia Viviani and Matteo Trentin won. Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Nizzolo (Israel – Premier Tech) will also be in Munich, and Alberto Dainese (DSM) should be more than an inside guide. Defending champion Colbrelli is missing from the Tour of Catalonia after crashing in March. The Italian survived a cardiac arrest in the final.
“We will leave the control of the competition to other countries, because they may have a better chance in the competition. We have to prepare for every final situation and then accept the competition in the final,” said national coach Daniele Bennati “. La Gazzetta dello Sport “. What is clear from the point of view of the sprint strength of the team: the breakaway group should be difficult in Munich.