Fast, faster, Emma Hinze. In the Kristina Vogel manner, the only 22-year-old sprinter dominates the competition and wins the World Cup triple. Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt prevent a zero number in the men.
Berlin (dpa) - Emma Hinze put her racing machine in the air with sheer joy and shook her head in disbelief. The only 22-year-old sprinter crowned herself the queen of track cycling in Berlin in a furious finale and repeated Kristina Vogel's historic World Cup triple from 2014.
Hinze won her third world champion title in the sprint Keirin after having won gold with the team and in the sprint. With this, Hinze catapulted himself into the role of top favorite for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
"As in a dream", Hinze thought she was in Berlin after her gala performances. "Grandiose, outstanding", national coach Detlef Uibel raved about his new model driver and symbolically took off his hat. Vogel, who has been paraplegic since her bad training accident in 2018, was also full of praise: "She is a great talent. I hope it is the beginning of a wonderful career."
Women's power was the order of the day in the German camp. Hinze and Co. accounted for seven of the eight medals. Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt won the only podium for the men on the final day with bronze in the Madison. However, the successful duo missed the third title in a row after 2018 and 2019, which would have been a novelty in this discipline.
The sprinters were once again the focus of attention in the Velodrome. And the colleagues also shone in the slipstream of Hinze. Lea Sophie Friedrich, who was two years younger, finished sixth in Keirin. She had previously won gold in team sprints and in the 500m time trial, making her the youngest winner in this discipline. Pauline Grabosch was also convincing. "The national coach has a difficult decision to make with the three of us," said Friedrich, referring to Olympia, where only two riders are allowed to start. "It was phenomenal that this trio was able to close the gap that Vogel and Welte have bridged so quickly," said German sports director Patrick Moster.
The pursuers looked similarly good. Lisa Brennauer (Durach), Franziska Brauße (Öschelbronn) and Lisa Klein (Erfurt) took second to fourth place in the 3000 meter pursuit. Given this strong performance, there would have been more in the foursome than bronze. "It is not yet complete," said Klein regarding the Olympics. The men's four, on the other hand, has been waiting for a medal since 2002 - despite a German record in Berlin.
So there was the contrast program for the German men, least prevented Kluge and Reinhardt a zero number. The title was won by the Danes Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman Hansen on Sunday. There had been a lot of excitement about Mørkøv in advance. After arriving in Berlin on Thursday, the 34-year-old was initially isolated in his hotel room in Berlin because he had previously participated in the UAE tour. The tour had been canceled due to the possible illness of two Italian members of a team due to the novel coronavirus. After all tests were negative, the Dane was able to start.
The German sprinters are worried because they have lost contact with the world leaders. "With men, everyone goes their own way. There has been a certain egomania," criticized Uibel. Thus, no German driver was represented in the medal races when the sprint discipline was decided. Harrie Lavreysen won the title in a purely Dutch final.
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