BORA - hansgrohe riders took home a total of eight medals in their respective national championship races. One of the highlights is without doubt the win of Alexander Hajek in the Austrian road race, with the youngster taking the title on a tough course. Over in Germany, another youngster Florian Lipowitz took second place in the road race, making for a total of five BORA-hansgrohe riders in the top ten in Bad Dürrheim. Teammates Jordi Meeus and Frederik Wandahl also secured bronze medals amidst tough competition in the Belgian and Danish road races respectively.
In the time trial discipline, Flip Maciejuk took home the jersey at the Polish championships with a strong performance. Teammates Patrick Gamper, Maximilian Schachmann and Ryan Mullen all took home silver medals in the Austrian, German and Irish championships respectively.
From the Finish Line
Alexander Hajek:
It’s unbelievable. I’m really over the moon and didn’t really expect that I’d become national champion today. It was a really tough race right from the start, which we anticipated. Because the race was quite difficult, I knew ahead of time that it could suit me well, but I didn’t expect it to go that well! I felt good throughout the day and was able to fend off all the attacks and keep up with the important moves. In the finale, there were four of us, and I knew the end of the course and raced it accordingly. I’m really pleased to be able to wear the jersey for the next year.
Filip Maciejuk:
It was a pretty long time trial, but we had a super good pacing strategy. I stuck to the plan and felt strong. I’ve had this race on my mind since the beginning of the year and came here in decent shape. For me this title means a lot - representing the colors of my country at races around the world has always been a dream.
Florian Lipowitz:
Ultimately there’s a bit of disappointment as our team definitely came here to race for the win. I think I’ve done a solid race. Last week I became sick again and we only decided two days ago that I’d take on the race. It was an extremely hard race, we tried hard but in the end we have to accept the result. Marco Brenner was strong today, he deserves the win.
Frederik Wandahl:
It was a really hard day of racing, full gas for 200km. It’s typical of our national championship races, with the race opening up, then closing down, and opening up once more. The final 30m was, accordingly, full of attacks. At under 10km remaining, I went together with Kasper, Michael and Rasmus. We managed to go clear and in the end it came down to a sprint between us for the win. I thought I could take the victory, but in the end I had to settle for third place. The other two guys were just better on the day. However, it was still a pretty good race for me on a parcours that wasn’t necessarily ideal. I made the most of it, and am satisfied with a podium result, even though I’d for sure loved to have taken home the jersey.
Rolf Aldag:
The championships are very difficult and special races each year, a lot can always happen here. Our riders fought hard and gave their all - with two championship jerseys and a total of eight medals, it's a solid performance. Of course, it also hurts not to have the German champion's jersey in our ranks for the first time since 2020. In terms of numbers, we were up there in the German championships, but at the top we were missing the injured riders Emanuel Buchmann and Lennard Kämna.
Photo: Reinhard Eisenbauer