It was his first international Derny race. But Moritz Augenstein had prepared well, training with his pacer Christian Ertl. The two arrived at the European Championships on the track in Erfurt as a well-coordinated team – and were considered favorites by many.
So Moritz decided to take control of the race. He and his pacer moved into the lead after just three laps. From there, they dictated the pace, significantly accelerating halfway through the race – and in the end, Moritz claimed the gold medal with a one-lap lead.
The Stayer European Championships were also held in Erfurt, where Pushbiker Luca Harter won the bronze medal. What a successful day for the Pushbikers and their track specialists!
The race on Saturday followed a clear structure. “I drew a good starting position in the lottery and started from position 3. We moved to the front early on because I wanted to control the race myself rather than having to react. Setting the pace from the front is something we practiced a lot in training, and it worked well this time too. In the end, I was able to secure the victory with a one-lap lead over second-placed Adam Krenek with Nick Alens (Czech Republic),” said Augenstein.
“I really enjoy the interaction with the Derny pacer – also fine-tuning the line and reaching speeds that you can hold not just for a short time, but over a longer period. The suffering behind the Derny isn’t just a challenge, it’s also fascinating: I just think to myself, ‘just somehow hang on’, without paying attention to watts or anything else. I just keep pedaling.”
Moritz doesn’t consider the Derny race to be his signature discipline — that title goes more to the points race, but also Madison and Scratch. “But I really enjoy Derny racing and I like training for it. And I certainly don’t need to hide,” he laughs after winning gold.
This European Championship held great personal significance for him, and that clearly shows — not least because it fits well into his preparation for the Track World Championships, which will take place at the end of October in Santiago de Chile. “My form is already very good right now. But with 1.5 months to go until Worlds, there’s still a lot of potential with some hard work. I’m highly motivated to keep working on myself in order to reach my next big goal.”
Immediately after the Derny European Championships, he headed straight into a training camp with the German national team in Livigno, Italy — where plenty of tough training awaits him.
— Martin Wolfram