Bolanden cycling team fights bravely in the fan cup and learns lessons!

Bolanden cycling team fights bravely in the fan cup and learns lessons!

An exciting weekend for the cycling team from Bolanden: Last Saturday the team, consisting of Noah Gehrhardt and Peter Sziedat, took part in the 6th International Cycling Fan Cup in Karlsruhe. The competition featured world-class teams from various countries, including the French champions and World Cup participants from Dorlisheim as well as the Swiss champion and 2023 runner-up from Altdorf. The RV Bolanden team was able to prepare for a challenging field, which also included the reigning Czech national champions from Svitávka. Despite the high expectations and strong competition, the team wanted above all to learn and gain valuable experience, as stated in a report by Weekly newspaper reporter can be read.

The group opponents included teams not only from the German 2nd Bundesliga, but also the Swiss champions Altdorf. The first fight against Altdorf ended with a clear 5-0 defeat, which gave coach Markus Hack reason to recommend a calmer style of play. What was impressive, however, was the increase in performance in the second round, which the team finished with 3:10 - a result that shows that Gehrhardt and Sziedat were clearly able to make progress.

A varied tournament course

The Bolandeners had no less tough fights in the following games, which were played against other strong opponents such as Hofen and Sulgen. They quickly fell 0-3 behind in both games. In the end they were able to finish against Hofen with 3:6 and narrowly lost against Sulgen with 5:6. There was a clear fighting spirit, even if the results didn't always go in their favour.

In the last group game against Nordhausen/Gärtringen, the team unfortunately had to accept a 1:10 defeat, which increased the pressure on the Bolanden team for the placement games. This took place against the host Karlsruhe. Here Noah and Peter were finally able to achieve a redeeming 5:2 victory, which brought them 9th place in the tournament. This can be seen as a sense of achievement that rewarded the team's hard work and learning process.

A comparison in an international context

The Fan Cup is part of an overarching tournament series that took place at the highest level in cycling. The importance of such tournaments is highlighted by the Cycling World Cup underlined, which has been organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) since 2002. Here the best teams in the world fight for the prestigious title, although the Bolanden team is far from having reached this level, but was able to take important steps in this direction through their participation in the Fan Cup.

Finally, the team would like to thank RMSC Karlsruhe for the invitation to the tournament and the associated opportunity to compete with the best of the best. It remains to be hoped that the experience gained will bear fruit in future competitions.