AOn Saturday (April 8th, 2023) the women will join Paris-Roubaix at the start. Lisa Brennauer talks to sportschau.de about her favourites, her life after professional sport and why more women’s races would be important in Germany.
Only for the third time Paris-Roubaix also for the women, with almost 145 kilometers the race is longer than ever before. At the premiere in 2021, Lisa Brennauer came fourth, last year the track Olympic champion and former road world champion retired. However, the 34-year-old did not say goodbye to the sport.
sports show: You ended your career in August and are now working as a trainer for the German cycling association. How did that happen?
Lisa Brennauer: It was clear to me that I wanted to stay in the sport so that I could pass on my knowledge and experience from all those years of professional cycling. There were different possibilities and working with the association was one of them. Since the beginning of the year I have been able to call myself a trainer with federal duties and am strengthening the women’s area on the road and on the track. I already have one or the other course behind me. So now I enjoy cycling from the other side.
So there are no doubts about the end of your career?
Brennauer: No, I’m totally fine with my career. Of course there are things I miss. On the one hand to be part of a team, on the other hand to be looked after as an athlete. But the daily torment during training, the discipline that concerns life as a whole, the pressure and the strain – I don’t need that anymore. It was a different, wonderful time that I don’t want to miss either.
You have also taken on the role of Sports Director at the premiere of the Women’s Cycling Grand Prix in Stuttgart – the only top-level women’s race in Germany alongside the Tour of Thuringia. Why are there so few of them in this country?
Brennauer: I think it is very sad. But I noticed myself that it is not that easy to organize such a race. Even if you have big plans. The Stuttgart Grand Prix would have liked to have had WorldTour status directly, but could not meet the requirements of the world cycling association. But the will is there. And I hope that this will convince other organizers to also focus on women’s cycling in Germany.
With the races in Stuttgart or Thuringia, the young athletes are given a goal in their own country – something tangible that gives them the incentive to get on their bikes and continue with the sport. It’s a different basis than when the Bundesliga, which hardly gets any attention, is the measure of all things, as has unfortunately been the case in recent years with the exception of the Thuringia Tour. The youngsters are at least there and ambitious, I notice that as a trainer myself.
The season has been underway since January. Which riders have impressed you the most so far?
Brennauer: Definitely Liane Lippert from a German perspective. I was at the training camp in January and I noticed her good form. She has had a bit of bad luck in the previous races, but her favorite races are still to come with the Ardennes classics. I was also enthusiastic about Ricarda Bauernfeind, who in my opinion made her breakthrough on the WorldTour. Internationally, of course, you have to name the team SD Worx, which dominates the WorldTour. Above all, the Swiss Marlen Reusser has developed enormously. And sprinter Lotte Kopecky is on another planet anyway.
Are these also your favorites when Paris – Roubaix is a true cycling classic on Saturday?
Brennauer: This is for Paris-Roubaix It’s hard to say because that little bit of luck plays a much bigger role in these track conditions than in other races. In any case, I would have no hesitation in Marlen Reusser. But I could also imagine Marianne Vos coming in at the front again. She’s still missing the race. And defending champion Elisa Longo Borghiniwho impressed me on her return from illness at the Tour of Flanders.
And the German drivers? At least Liane Lippert skips the race.
Brennauer: From a German point of view it will be difficult. Romy Casper is in great shape, scratched the top 20 in Flanders and loves this terrain. I wouldn’t put it past her to be in the top ten. Or Mieke Kröger with a solo ride. If a German driver made it into the top ten, that would be a great success.
Two years ago you are with Paris-Roubaix finished fourth himself. Doesn’t it tingle at the thought of not being there this year?
Brennauer: No, I don’t have to bang over the cobblestones there again. It’s kind of a love-hate relationship. The race itself is cruel, the strain, the circumstances there. Just thinking about the 2021 race with all the mud and slush. I was really hooked back then, huh Paris-Roubaix concerns. And I still think it’s great. But I experienced it, I was fourth and that’s a good thing.