The “Race across Germany” is a challenge: racing cyclists travel non-stop through Germany.
Tina and Gerhard Steinl completed the tour in 41 hours - and collected money for a good cause.
Weilheim - As a true gentleman, Gerhard Steinl wanted to spare his wife a finale in the continuous rain at night. So he canceled the planned last change of staff near Weilheim and simply drove south. But he couldn't quite get away with it, after all Tina Steinl is a real racer. Despite the bad weather, she got on her bike again - and together the Deutenhausen team completed the last ten kilometers in the “Race across Germany”.
The non-stop trip went from Flensburg to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On the 1,100 kilometers, 7500 meters of altitude had to be overcome - a real monster tour. Tina and Gerhard Steinl easily kept the time limit for teams of two. After 41:15 hours they had reached the target point. In the last few hundred meters, the organizers had built in a little meanness. Because the finish line was not just at the exit of the ski jumping stadium, but at the top of the jump table. That means that at the very end there was a 14 percent increase. But Tina and Gerhard Steinl managed that too - they arrived shortly after 2 a.m. Only two other teams and two solo drivers had arrived before the two. "We were surprised ourselves when we found out," said the duo.In the two-man mixed classification, the Steinls took second place behind Steffi and Gerry Steinberg (39:26).
Cycled for a good cause
Tina and Gerhard Steinl also completed the Race across Germany for a good cause - as part of the “Cycling for water” project. Because they helped the Watermark donation campaign that Sandra Blank had organized at the Weilheim location of Xylem Analytics Germany GmbH. The aim is to build a water tower with which people in South Asia can secure their drinking water supply. Xylem GmbH donated two euros for every kilometer cycled. Since the Steinls completed the entire distance, they raised 2200 euros. The workforce at all Xylem locations in Germany then voted in which country the Aqua Tower should be built. The majority chose India. The project was ultimately made possible by the site leaders Robert Reining (Mainz site) and Ulrich Schwab (Weilheim site).
The people of Deuthausen, who had already contested an ultra race in Austria this year, were overjoyed. “There were no technical failures, not even a flat tire. And the accompanying crew will accompany us safely throughout Germany, ”said the couple. The fact that the tour from north to south is not child's play is shown by the following fact: of 85 starters, a third did not finish.
The two cyclists started their adventure at exactly 9 a.m. at the Hafenspitze in Flensburg.
The conditions were ideal with 20 degrees Celsius and dry weather.
Tina and Gerhard Steinl had decided to take turns every 50 kilometers.
Two hours were calculated per stint.
According to their own admission, the duo “didn't want to go too fast”.
But both are also competitors.
So it came about that they completed the first 400 kilometers at an average speed of over 30 km / h.
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Finish in the dark: Gerhard and Tina Steinl immediately after arriving at the ski jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen after 41:15 hours of non-stop travel.
© Race across Germany
The route led from Flensburg via Kiel, Hamburg and Uelzen to Salzgitter and Göttingen.
When the first night fell it went through the Harz.
“And by then, at the latest, there was no more fun,” reported Gerhard Steinl (born in 1967).
It got more and more hilly, colder and also foggy.
With the pace car behind them, in which Robert Eßer and Sven Schneider sat, the Steinls had reliable support.
Nevertheless, “the night was very hard for both of us”.
Race across Germany
The Race across Germany is a cycle race organized by Dieter Göpfert from Lower Franconia, in which both individual riders and teams of different strengths can take part. Driving is non-stop, there is a different time limit depending on the competition. The race was held for the first time in 1999, but was canceled in 2020 due to Corona. The race is part of the calendar of the World Ultracycling Association and is an opportunity to qualify for the most famous event of its kind, the Race across America. The Race across Germany now has two routes: one from Flensburg to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1,100 kilometers / 7,500 meters in altitude) and one from Aachen to Görlitz (780 kilometers / 7,800 meters in altitude).
The dawning morning brightened the mind, but the route along the Hessian-Thuringian border remained challenging. Shortly before Fladungen, the "Team Orbea Germany" crossed the Bavarian border. Until shortly before Augsburg “it was a constant up and down”, says Gerhard Steinl. “That cost a lot of energy.” To distract themselves, he and Tina Steinl (born 1971) tried to enjoy the views of the passing landscape and individual moments. Food was an important aspect. "A deficit usually ends fatally and leads to the termination of such a competition," said the Deuthausen resident.
The weather forecasts looked rather bleak when looking south. When Gerhard Steinl got on his bike near Augsburg, steady rain and wind from the south set in. He was completely wet within five minutes. In view of the adverse conditions, he “didn't want to do one last stage to his wife” in the middle of the night. In the end, however, she couldn't be stopped and got on the bike. The whole thing only worked “because we worked very well in the team,” said Gerhard Steinl, referring to his wife and the supervisors.