Let`s gooooooo
Task
Maloja Pushbikers Future Stars - that's our junior team. Girls and boys from four years old to U19, on the road bike, on the track or the trails - here it's all about diversity and lots of fun on the bike. Our young riders are also very successful in 2022. Medals at the German Track Championships, participation in the European Championships and cackling in training - read more about the Future Stars here.
The focus is on: having fun with cycling! The professionals of the Maloja Pushbikers ride on the road and the track, with our Maloja Pushbikers Future Stars we promote the next generation in all age groups and in different disciplines (road bike, MTB and track). The junior team has been around since 2017 and we would say that the Future Stars are a successful concept.
With our cycling club, the RSV Irschenberg, we get a lot going – or rather: on the bike. Joint training sessions throughout the year, parties & celebrations, training camps, and also: racing. For the young Future Stars, it is exciting and motivating to take part in competitions that are also ridden by big German cycling stars – for example, at the German Track Championships 2022. This shows how close the youngsters already come to professional sport. We are particularly proud to say that all Future Stars who took part in the German Track Championships came back with at least one medal. You can find a small excerpt of all that the Maloja Pushbikers Future Stars do and achieve here.
In mid-June, the German Track Championships took place in Kaarst Büttgen, North Rhine-Westphalia. On a total of six competition days, 51 decisions were made from the U15 to the elite, more than 350 met this year. Among them were the great role models such as Lisa Brennauer, Laura Süßemilch, the companions of Christian Grasmann, Theo Reinhardt and Roger Kluge, but also the sprinters Emma Hinze, Lea Friedrich and Pauline Grabosch.
Our Future Stars feel especially connected to Lisa Brennauer – she took the time to accompany the club’s internal sports honour in May. In her laudation, she emphasised that one always wins or loses as a team, and also the importance of grassroots work in the home club. On this evening, however, not only successful RSV athletes were honoured for their achievements, but also the club: for the fifth time in a row, the Irschenberger received the Werner Krappweis Cup for the most successful junior club in Upper Bavaria. The newspaper Miesbacher Merkur also wrote about the laudation of the Olympic champion, see HERE.
The DM Track were once again exciting and exhausting, but very successful days for the Future Stars:
Magdalena Fuchs landed a double victory: In the points race she secured the gold medal in the last classification and with a one-point lead. Magdalena also won the U19 age group Madison together with Justyna Czapla (Nuremberg) with a clear points lead and round win. For Sophie Schuster it was her first DM track event – and she used it to bring home another championship title. Together with Emily Wagenstetter (RSV Rosenheim) she won the U15 Madison race.
After Magdalena Fuchs, Laura Kastenhuber and Pia Grüner together with Justyna Czapla had made it into the final without any problems, they had to settle for the silver medal in the U19 team pursuit. Hanna Dopjans also won silver together with Selma Lantzsch (Team Stuttgart) – although the two riders were already allowed to compete in the elite and thus had European champions, world champions and Olympic champions as opponents. Antonia Betzinger won bronze in the U17 single pursuit, her favourite discipline, and silver in the team pursuit with Lilly Walter and two riders from Augsburg and Aichach. In the points race, Maximilian Weiß rode a tactically very clever race and was happy to win bronze in the U17 category.
In the summer months, things are really happening at RSV Irschenberg – and not only among the youngsters, but also among the younger children.
Many races on the road and mountain bike could take place and we are happy about great results of our young athletes. At the Bavarian Championship Road in Sonthofen there was a course with a decent climb, a curvy downhill and a 180 degree turn before the finish. All Future Stars who crossed the finish line went straight to the podium. There was gold for Hannes Ludwig (U13), Maximilian Weiß (U17), Pia Grünewald (U19), silver for Sophie Schuster (U15), bronze for Sebastian Weiß (U13).
The Future Stars also attract attention internationally: Antonia Betzinger comes third overall at the 3 Giorni Giudicarie Dolomiti in Italy – the three-day race was already her second outing in the national jersey this year. For Magdalena Fuchs it was all the way to the Junior European Championships, where she finished a strong 9th in the individual time trial in the heat of Portugal. In the U19 team pursuit on the track, Magdalena was even happy to win the silver medal!
„I didn’t think that I would enjoy racing so much and that I would be able to achieve individual successes in my first real year of racing. The club life, the coaches and the friends you make are always a reason to step on the gas and motivate yourself. In addition, I’ve already been around a lot this year through races and training camps and the fun never comes too short during training or other activities.”
(Sophie)
And what about the little ones? Because they also get a lot of attention and have also found a sensitive trainer in Bella. The youngest start at 3.5 to four years old – sometimes even without pedals. Everyone is welcome to try out the RSV Irschenberg from the age of four. Twice a week, the youngsters meet to train together, usually in three to five groups that are put together according to age and performance.
“What fascinates me is that the young children in particular have a lot of confidence, that they don’t think too much about roots on the path, for example – they just go for it and have a lot of fun with cycling,” Bella describes.
With the little ones, there is actually a lot of technique training at the beginning: how to brake properly, how many fingers do you use to brake, getting to know the gears. When they get a bit older, riding with clipless pedals for the first time is also on the agenda. “We also ride with the little ones on forest paths, meadows and trails. We do almost everything that the grown-ups do.”
„The girls chat and cackle. The boys “fight” – but talk at least as much as the girls. And if a tear is shed, it is usually forgotten again very quickly.”
(Bella)
The promotion of young talent, the joint training, the club work – all this is based on voluntary work and demands a lot of time and commitment. For our children and young people, this work is a great enrichment and therefore our great thanks go to our coaches at RSV Irschenberg, to the board and treasurer, to the companies that financially support and equip our youngsters and last but not least to the parents and families. A big thank you for your commitment!
For the website of the RSV Irschenberg and the Maloja Pushbikers Future Stars, klick HERE.
The Future Stars philosophy and the teams trainers can be found on our Pushbikers website HERE .
Photo
— Friends & Family