GCC - The final strait (...)

MUENSTER - Better late than never, a few lines on the final German Cycling Cup race of the 2008 season: the 3rd Muensterlandgiro. An event that changes its course every year and this time we went west of Muenster for what - unfortunately - meant quite a boring circuit of no less than 146 km! On the upside, it was one big lap, on the down side it was pancake flat, windy and the roads went straight ahead as far as the eyes could see..

The perfect recipe for some good old-fashioned bunch crashes, but let's stay positive. I kept myself out of trouble, which also meant that I lost touch with the frontrunners somewhere. Halfway through the race the group was still at least 200 riders thick, and when all the guys of the 110km event joined our course one had a tendency to get claustrophobic. At the end of the day, I came home safely in 114th spot and happy the long season was over. Before the race I knew I would still lose a few places in the overall GCC ranking due to some top guys having Muenster as their seventh event (it was my eighth and only the best seven results count for the final ranking). So, I ended the GCC in 8th place with 1998 points, which certainly makes me feel good. I would have signed for that back in March, especially given I am not a sprinter type. Moreover, I finished on the podium (3rd) in my age group (Masters 1) so that makes for a great conclusion of the 2008 season!

Poor guy Mike McManus, though. Leading the GCC for nearly the entire season and eventually only fifth and off the podium in the final ranking. Mike didn't participate in Muenster, and his results in the seven previous races apparently didn't make up for it. The GCC finally went to Thomas Kapuste of the Radon Cyclepower Team. Kapuste is a former elite rider who has recently found his old passion back. Second place went to Christian Schroth, who not so long ago was still riding for Germany in the U23. Third spot overall was taken up by Andreas Bollessen.

The final German Cycling Cup ranking.

GCC - Hanging in, getting through

NUERNBERG - Newcomers to the annual Rund um die Nuernberger Altstadt event were warned: this one has crash festival potential. A 13km flat loop around the scenic old town to be taken 8 times with over excited 800 riders. All I wanted is to come through the race with the first group and score points to delete my Erlangen result from the GCC ranking.

It was very cold at the start with merely six degrees, but at least the skies were blue and cloudless for a change. I didn't mix with the breakaway attempts up front and concentrated on staying in touch with the leading group, which would always remain a good 100 riders' strong. My teammate Alexander set the pace for most of the race in fact. He was just as afraid as me of getting involved in a silly incident with his Hawai IronMan goal now just around the corner. I came out of my shell on the penultimate lap when we approached the 300 metre long "hill" - about the only option to try and get away from the bunch. Another guy had the same idea as me and as we took off, Thomas Kapuste and two other riders in our wake. But the hill was just not long enough and our advantage over the peloton was rapidly gone. Then, I just hung in there to finish at the back of the first group, avoiding a big crash in the process. 

I had seen a few, others saw plenty more: Nuernberg lived up to its questionable reputation again. A pity really as it is one of the best organised races on the German cyclo calendar and also one of the cheapest! 

As expected, I lost my third place in the overall ranking to Thomas Kapuste, who finished third in the race this time. I am fourth now, but can expect to lose at least one more spot after the Muensterlandgiro on 3 October. That's alright, I'm not a sprinter and the GCC is a points-based system. I could finish third in my age category, however. 

The race was won by Thomas Wickles, who clearly beat Nico Wernicke in the sprint.

Rund um die Nuernberger Altstadt

Zuri Metzgete: another wet affair

ZURICH - After a sabbatical last year, the renowned Zuri Metzgete classic event returned on the calendar and I had marked the event as my final real race objective of this season, other than trying to retain a top ranking in the German Cycling Cup. Sadly, Zurich was hit by tremendous rainshowers,which curbed the enthusiasm of the roughly 1, 000 participants who could choose between 104 or 52 km races. 

I wrestled my way to the front of a large peloton on the first and rather steep climb, but I came 10 metres short of attaching myself to the leading group. They didn't wait up front so I had to take risks to bridge the gap in the fast descent. When - in pouring rain and with risk of aquaplaning - I missed a bend, I decided I didn't need this anymore so deep into the season and called it a day after 1 lap. Ironically, I got ranked 18th on that distance but in reality it's a DNF. 

Rebecca wrote a great report for Challenge Magazin. Please follow the link to that website.