As things currently stand, the German Championships are the only race on the international calendar to be held in Germany in 2020. That is why the race has the highest priority, especially for many small teams, as otherwise there are no other opportunities to put themselves in the limelight in their home country.
The BIKE AID riders traveled to Saxony with mixed feelings. In the last 3 weeks the team had already completed an extensive international racing program in Romania, France and Poland.
However, the team had to return home disappointed from the last race in Poland. A race with a borderline route and major deficiencies in terms of security. With the race the organizer glorified a war and with absolute seriousness he raved about war vocabulary in public relations, he wanted as much dangerous drama as possible. Like dozens of other riders, Lucas Carstensen occasionally avoided the sidewalk on the first stage in order to avoid crashs and defects on a road completely torn open by a construction site. A road that should never be in a bike race, especially not on a circuit a few kilometers from the finish. However, Lucas was the only one disqualified for this offense. Yes, riding on the sidewalk is a clear violation of the rules, but as so often the same law did not apply to everyone and, given an unreasonable road, one could have decided differently.
The team had traveled to Poland with Lucas as the sprinter and the man for the results, so the team lacked the sporting goal on the other stages. The unnecessary dangers of the race also contributed to the fact that one drove to the end of the race rather reluctantly.
It was with this frustration that Lucas traveled to the Sachsenring, with the determination to deliver a good result. Under normal circumstances, such a track should not be the first choice for road racing. But due to the corona, it is extremely difficult to convince the authorities to approve. What actually defines the atmosphere at bike races, the closeness of the fans on the mountain, in close touch with the action, none of this fits right into the Corona era. So the width and thus, to a certain extent, desolation of a motor racing track is somehow exactly suitable for Corona.
According to a motor racing track, the race was not very spectacular, although the numerous short climbs made the race quite difficult. Almost 3,800 vertical meters on a 3.5km circuit sound strange.
In the final on the last 5 rounds, Nicodemus Holler was able to put the favored Bora boys under pressure with a solo attack, but was soon caught up again. In the final sprint everyone believed in an outstanding Bora winner, Pascal Ackermann was surprisingly beaten by an overjoyed Marcel Meisen.
Lucas Carstensen delivered confidently and finished in sixth place in the end. When it comes to getting close to a podium, it may be a bit disappointing at first. But things look different after a while, as he has again proven that he is one of the best sprinters in this country. Nikodemus Holler was also able to catch up a bit in the end and sprinted to 17th place, which makes the yield for BIKE AID absolutely convincing.
