Theo Reinhardt picked up a kiss from his life partner Jane and son Pepe at the gang, Roger Kluge raised his fist towards the roof of the hall with a broad grin.
The Berlin duo withstood the pressure at the European Track Cycling Championships and won the two-man team title for the third time in a row after Munich 2022 and Grenchen 2023 and achieved a historic hat trick.
“We know what we can do. It was a fight until the end, we’re exhausted now, but it’s indescribable that we managed to do it. A historic victory,” said Kluge after the renewed success in Apeldoorn. Both won the first of two world championship titles at the same place in 2018. After 200 laps (50 kilometers), Kluge/Reinhardt came out on top with 64 points ahead of Thomas Boudat and Donovan Grondin from France (60) and Michael Morkov and Theodor Storm from Denmark (50).
Reinhardt: “We have achieved something great”
The duo will continue on Friday at the Bremen Six Day Race, before the Six Day Weekend in Berlin (January 26th/27th). Then there are the Nations Cups in Brisbane (Australia) and Hong Kong, before the big goal of 2024 awaits in the summer with the Olympic Games in Paris.
“Olympia writes different laws. This victory will certainly give impetus to the Olympic season. Hopefully it will continue like this. But for now we are happy about this victory. With the third triumph in a row we have achieved something great,” said Reinhardt.
Re-formed women’s foursome takes bronze
The German women’s foursome, which was reformed for the small final with Franziska Brauße (Eningen), Lisa Klein, Lena Reißner (both Erfurt) and Laura Süßemilch (Aulendorf) as well as Mieke Kröger (Bielefeld), who was used in the first two runs, previously won the bronze medal . In the race for third place, national coach André Korff’s quartet won against Ireland in 4:14.758 minutes. The European title went to Italy (4:12.551). The German men’s foursome with returnee Felix Groß (Leipzig) took fourth place in 3:52.108.
Lea Sophie Friedrich and Emma Hinze from Cottbus, who won gold in the team sprint with Pauline Grabosch at the start of the European Championship on Wednesday, will compete for medals in the sprint competition on Friday. Defending champion Friedrich will face world champion Emma Finucane from Great Britain in the semi-finals, while Hinze will face ex-world champion Mathilde Gros from France.
