rsnplusWorld Championship Chance for “Hole Climbers”

by Kevin Kempo

George Zimmerman at the 2020 World Championship Road Race | Photo: Kor Vos

09/24/2022 | (rsn) – In the latest after the women’s road race, it should be clear what scenario to expect at the end of the World Championships in Wollongong in the men’s competition. But already the junior and U23 men’s races gave the first information about the course and a possible final – namely the sprint of a small leading group. Georg Zimmermann, perhaps the most promising of the six-strong German World Cup squad, is hoping for the same.

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“The track is very balanced. Can play multiple characters. In terms of increasing the height, it’s not particularly difficult, but the distance will make it really tough. As far as I know, it’s the hardest I’ve ever seen.” It’s a long World Cup,” the Augsburg man said at the press conference on the day of rest. But Zimmerman was wrong in this assessment. Rather, the 266 km between Helensburgh and Wollongong is within the normal World Cup distance of recent years: races in 2021, 2017, 2013 and 2012 were a few kilometers longer than at this time.

However, this is the longest race of his career for Zimmerman. In 2020, however, he came much closer to the race in Australia with appearances at the World Championships in Lige-Bastogne-Lige (257 km) and Imola (258 km). Most recently, Zimmermann had clearly passed the 200-kilometer mark in Canada – and having finished fourteenth at the Grand Prix de Montréal, he certainly knew how to impress.

Successful in world cup dress rehearsal

“Gp Montreal for more than six hours on a tough course was world championship dress rehearsal for me. I relied heavily on the basics because of the distance in training as well. But you also have to say that two minutes of climbing will be important, so You definitely need the right punch,” he said, looking at Mount Pleasant, who would also be the executioner in the men’s race.

“You bring some speed to the climb, but you don’t get too much with it. The curves aren’t tight, but a 90-degree curve is still enough to thread the peloton in a row,” said the 24th year old . -Old, who expects early judgment in such a constellation. “I think it makes a difference: If the field consistently extends the climb, you’re already half a minute behind the leaders. You can do that on a 2.5-minute climb. So, always to the positions first.” There will be a big fight, so you have to drive long with high performance,” Zimmerman predicted.

In juniors, for example, Portuguese Antonio Morgado could not defend himself from the latter’s world champion Emil Herzog, while two breakaways in U23, Mathias Vesek and Yevgeny Fedorov, maintained their lead in the last few kilometres. On a winding track, the finale can be a nail-biter. “It’s still a long way from the last mountain and there are still five flat kilometers on the coast. That’s why I don’t want to write anyone off from a real runner who’s also good at mountain, to ‘punchy’ climber ,” Zimmerman said.

Well Rested and Fully Motivated

Supporters of the Belgian Intermarché team are also considered “porous climbers”. Zimmermann achieved his best results in a difficult one-day run, but he has recently been able to impress on his home tour as well. “The Deutschland Tour has given me extra motivation and confidence. It was the first time I’ve finished on top of a mountain with the pros,” said Zimmermann, noting his fourth place overall in the midst of one. The world class field is no longer a mountain finish, but the high level (on the Deutschland Tour) was good. I think I earned the trust of the national team there and it was an important building block that I am sitting here now at this press conference”, said Zimmermann, who attended the press conference with Nicias Arndt.

In the past few weeks, he has not only presented himself in form in Germany and Canada. Following the Tour of North America, Zimmermann also made a strong showing at the GP Wallonia (1st Pro) in Belgium, when he controlled and destroyed the peloton in the final for his teammate Binium Girme in the Citadel.

After a few days we went to Australia. He recently collected a similar number of “Air Miles”—and Zimmerman noted that, too. “We arrived on Tuesday morning and of course I was tired at first. But it is getting better and better and from today I feel relaxed for the first time and in the evening I also noticed that it is getting late and my The body has got used to. Now I am ready for the World Cup”, he finally insisted.