This weekend it was not enough for the podium, but the KTM Youngsters showed once again strong performances.
Leo Hack and Nico Wollenberg took several hundreds of kilometers to travel for the next road race. There, a national junior road sighting took place in wet and cold weather on the Sachsenring race track between Zwickau and Chemnitz. Nico had the goal to win the mountain jersey. Accordingly, he was always in front and could also score points in two of the three evaluations. After the third stage an escape group formed, which Nico unfortunately missed. During the pursuit of the leaders there was a crash directly in front of Nico, which also took him off the bike. With a broken shifter and torn suit, the KTM youngster saved himself to the finish. Unfortunately Leo did not reach the finish. After a good start, he developed stomach problems with increasing nausea around the middle of the race, which forced him to retire.
Nico used Easter Monday for another race around Schönaich in Baden-Württemberg. In the strong field, including the winner of the Sachsenring, Nico was always able to stay in front in the mountainous race. The selective course gradually led to a reduction of the field until the Sachsenring winner broke away from the rest with another favorite. The field did not organize a pursuit. On the penultimate lap, a group of four with Nico broke away from the field to settle third place among themselves. A bit over-motivated, Nico started the sprint uphill too early, but had to realize that he lacked power in the last 100 meters, so he rolled into the finish line in sixth place.
While Nico was disappointed about his sixth place, Timo Brandl was very happy about his sixth place. In the C3 race in Arbon, Switzerland, he had to be focused at all times due to the track with short climbs and many tight corners. Especially because the leaders kept the pace high. The onset of rain made the track increasingly greasy, but it remained rideable. Timo drove almost the entire race in a group of four. In the last lap he was able to increase the pace and in the final sprint he won sixth place. Very happy about his first UCI points, he is now looking forward to the Junior Series in Haiming.
Simon Potstada had the longest journey this time with ten hours. That’s how long it took the KTM youngster to reach Capoliveri on the French island of Elba. There a race of the Junior World Series took place. The weather was great and the track very dusty, almost even slippery. After a few laps on the five-kilometer track, which was studded with tree trunks, jumps and steep downhills, Simon felt ready for the race. The weather forecast said rain and storm for the night before the race, but it was supposed to be sunny again in the morning. When he got on the rollers at eight o’clock on Saturday morning, an hour before the race started, there was a sudden downpour that led to a 45-minute race postponement. Simon tried to stay warm and dry and was lucky that the rain stopped when he was lined up in 55th place out of 156 on the grid. After a good start, the KTM youngster worked his way up to 30th in the starting loop. However, he then had to reduce the pace a bit until he found his rhythm. After five laps ridden and the start loop, Simon crossed the finish line in 42nd place with a good feeling. “I was happy with my race as it is going in the right direction for me. From the ranking I am not yet where I want to be, however, the goal is in sight and with further races I also get the old spryness back,” said the KTM youngster after the race.
