After winning three World Cup races and coming runner up in the overall World Cup, you might think that the German championship is not very significant for her. But for Marion Fromberger, winning the German Championship was a vital component for this season and also for her career, said the 22-year-old in an interview after the race. "I was well prepared but extremely nervous. It's not easy, when you know everyone expects you to win. I am very happy that I was able to withstand the pressure and I will wear my champion's jersey proudly for the next year", said the new German champion.
In the race itself, there was not much sign of her nervousness. On the natural course in Hausach she dominated the whole race. Fastest in the time trial, gave her pole position for the finals, and here she was able to time her overtaking manoeuvres accordingly. For the last 1,000 metres, Fromberger didn't leave anything to chance and secured pole position before the end, ahead of Lia Schievers, the defending champion. Her strategy was suited to the forest course with a lot of climbing. Fromberger didn’t want to get trapped on the last 400 metres which was downhill with various lines and jumps. "I had the power, I felt good and so I wanted to play it safe for the final sprint. I knew that if I was in first position after the climb, it would be down to my skills and I knew I could trust them," Fromberger said. On the final straight the race was already over, and the new German Champion was able to cross the finish line with a smile on her face.
In the men's race it was not Simon Gegenheimer who was in the final this time. The World Cup overall winner and four-time German champion was on the course in Hausach but did not start due to a cold. With Nils Riecker, however, a men's rider from the Mountain Bike Racing Team was able to compete for the medals. Riecker was very focused during the race and rode tactically into the final of the best four. Here the Koblenz rider was seen riding strongly in third position. Shortly before the end Riecker got a bit irritated and lost his balance during a jump, which was exactly the situation his teammate was able to avoid. Riecker ended up landing on the muddy ground and in the end, this meant fourth place for him.
Team manager Steffen Thum is very satisfied with his team: "It's great to see that even if Simon is ill, we can still compete for every victory. In the past we had strong leaders, now it’s a strong team. Physically as well as mentally, as even Marion was under a lot of pressure. 2nd place wouldn’t have been satisfying for us, but she’s proved it and now we can carry on, step for step” according to Steffen Thum, who with his Aalen Team now has another Championship title in his pocket.