The absence of several top names will not take the lustre off the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championship starting tomorrow in G\u00f6ppingen, Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A hundred ad fifty cyclists from 24 countries will be battling it out for the two titles in cycle-ball (men\u2019s and women\u2019s) and five for artistic cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were surprises in artistic cycling even before the championships begin, not least the absence of reigning world champion Lara F\u00fcller. The German athlete from Poppenweiler did not make it through the German qualifying series this year, finishing fourth. Just five points separated the top four, with only the two top athletes qualifying to compete in G\u00f6ppingen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, German champion and 2023 champion Ramona Dandl will have to be content with the role of reserve for Germany\u2019s two qualified riders: her Bruckm\u00fchl club mate Jana Pfann, the 2022 world champion and newcomer to the German squad Veronika Koch (Hausham).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other medal contenders in the women’s event are last year\u2019s bronze medallist Lorena Schneider of H\u00f6chst\/Austria and fourth-placed Alessa Hotz of Baar\/Switzerland. The fifth- and sixth-placed riders from 2024, Saskia Gerber of D\u00fcrnten\/Switzerland and Italian Magdalena M\u00fcller, have outsider chances for the final four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reigning world champion in single men will also be missing from the competition. Emilio Arellano, who competed for Spain, announced his retirement shortly after winning his world title last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arellano\u2019s victory in 2024 came after three bronze medals between 2021-2023, and although he admits to missing competition – and he continues to train every week -, he has stood fast by his decision. He will, however, attend the championships as the event\u2019s ambassador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The favourite to succeed him in the rainbow jersey is two-time silver medallist Philipp-Thies Rapp of Tailfingen\/Germany, who has dominated the season, and shown few weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His fiercest competition comes from his own German camp. Linus Weber of Kirchdorf is a rookie in the Elite class, having won the Under-19 European Championships in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other medal contenders in the men’s event are Yat Nam Chan from Hong Kong, and Hungarian Czaba Varga. Meanwhile, Marcel Schnetzer of H\u00f6chst\/Austria, who is making his world championships comeback after a two-year break, is also aiming to make it into the final four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Pairs competitions, the Germans are clear favourites. The same teams that won the titles and silver medals last year will compete in the Women\u2019s and Mixed Pairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defending women’s pairs world champions Antonia B\u00e4rk-Henny Kirst of Bonn-Duisdorf and defemdimg mixed pairs champions Nico R\u00f6diger-Lea Styber of Langenselbold are programmed for gold, while last year\u2019s women’s silver medallists Kim Leah Schl\u00fcter-Neele Jodeleit of Knetterheide and mixed silver medallists Niklas Kreutzmann-Celine Stapf of Soden are ready to capitalise on any mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the mixed category, two pairs from Hong Kong are snapping at the heels of the Germans – two-time bronze medallists Jeff Lim-Ron Lim and Wai Hui-Yin Hui, who have also been in the fight for bronze on previous occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the women’s competition, there are two duos from Switzerland competing for bronze or higher, with last year’s bronze medallists Simona Lucca-Larissa Tanner of St\u00e4fa\/D\u00fcrnten better positioned than Julia St\u00e4heli-Tanisha Tanner of Amriswil, who are making their world championships debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The duel between the Act-4 teams promises great excitement with reigning world champions Stefanie Haas, Valerie Untern\u00e4hrer, Selina Niedermann and Sarah Manser of Uzwil\/Switzerland competing in their last competition. They have announced the end of their careers and want to complete it by securing their second UCI rainbow jerseys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top seeded German women from RV Mainz-Ebersheim also want to put on that iconic jersey. Last year\u2019s silver medallists Milena Schwarz, Tijem Karatas, Stella Rosenbach and Svenja Kraus have their sights firmly set on gold after achieving many best scores this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In cycle-ball, the men\u2019s title holders have also announced their departure. Bernd Mlady-Raphael Kopp of Stein\/Germany are part of a new tournament format at their last UCI World Championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The A group, which previously comprised six teams, will be expanded by two teams and divided into two preliminary round groups for the first time. The group winners of the new \u2018Elite League\u2019 qualify directly for the Final 4, while the second and third-placed teams go into a play-off round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from the absence of Austria, the women’s cycle-ball competition will feature largely the same teams as in 2024: defending World Champions from Germany, Judith Wolf-Danielle Holzer of Hofen\/Prechtal, runners-up Sava Baumann-Chiara Dotoli of Switzerland, and bronze medallists Czechia again represented by Veronika Kripnerov\u00e1-Blanka Adamova\u00e1. Meanwhile, last year\u2019s fourth placed team from Japan sees Nana Yamashita playing with Sayaka Tokuhiro, who replaces Natsumi Noda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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