When the Tour de France Femmes starts in Paris on Sunday, there will also be seven German riders at the starting line. Especially in focus: Lisa Brennauer and Liane Lippert.
Over eight stages and more than 1,000 kilometers, the Tour de France women through north-eastern France. Among the 144 riders this year, there are seven Germans at the start. Lisa Brennauer and Liane Lippert will be particularly in focus – both have promising chances of one or the other day’s victory. But the other German participants around Hannah Ludwig or Kathrin Hammes can also play an important role for their team.
Lisa Brennauer sets her sights on the first stages
For Lisa Brennauer, participation in the Tour de France women one of the highlights their season and something very special. Her dream: Driving in the yellow jersey for a day. “At the same time, I also know that this leader’s jersey will be more hotly contested than almost any other before,” so the Olympic champion and multiple world champion compared to the sports show.
She focuses on the first half of the tour, initially characterized by flat, then hilly terrain. She was particularly taken with the fourth stage with gravel roads and short, steep climbs: “The track profile looks like a classic. That could be something that suits me particularly well. I like it hard, but not too hard.“It will definitely be when at the end of the Tour de France the mountains await the riders. Don’t play that into your cards: “But I’ll still enjoy being there.“
Brennauer drives for the German Continental team Ceratizit-WNT, but this season she did not compete much on the road. She had to cancel her start at the spring classic Paris-Roubaix, at the premiere of which she celebrated fourth place last year, due to corona. In June, however, she was able to set an exclamation mark when she defended her German championship title in the time trial despite a fall.
Liane Lippert drives for Captain Labous
Liane Lippert is also German champion, albeit on the road. The 24-year-old has been able to look forward to a successful season so far, especially in spring she shone with podium finishes at the Amstel Gold Race and Brabantse Pijl. But not only the classics suit her, Lippert also feels at home in the mountains. Another reason why she is particularly looking forward to the tour. “The routes are just great and I think it will be really exciting for the spectators to watch us women“, says Lippert to the sports show.
There were a few good stages for her, said the 24-year-old, but she also wanted to serve her team, Team DSM, around the captain and local hero Juliette Labous place: “We want to bring some wins home.” It is not unlikely that they will achieve this goal, since Lippert’s team has the best sprinter of the season, Lorena Wiebes, in its ranks.
In addition to Liane Lippert, a second German also drives for Team DSM, namely Franziska Koch. While the 22-year-old sees herself as a classics driver – she finished seventh at Paris-Roubaix last year – she has driven a number of tours this season, including the Giro d’Italia Donne Beginning of July. For the Tour de France women so she should be prepared.
Hammes, Ludwig and Co.: Gain experience, support teams
While the attention will be on Liane Lippert and Lisa Brennauer, the other German starters around Kathrin Hammes or Hannah Ludwig can drive without pressure. The latter finished third at the German Time Trial Championships both last year and this year – behind Lisa Brennauer and Lisa Klein, who, however, was not considered for the tour by her team.
Kathrin Hammes from WorldTeam EF Education-TIBCO-SVB is really strong in the mountains: the 33-year-old rode in this year’s mountainous tours, including the Giro d’Italia Donne, always in the top 30 and could be of great help to her team, especially in the final stages. The only 19-year-old Hannah Buch (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad) and Laura üßmilch (Plantur-Pura), world and European champion on the track, complete the German driver field at the Tour de France women.
German team Canyon SRAM Racing aims for top 5
With the Canyon SRAM Racing Team there is also a German WorldTeam, the only one on the Women’s World Tour, at the start of the Tour of France. Their driver has the best chance of a good place in the overall standings Katarzyna Niewiadoma. Not only did she celebrate numerous top 10 placements in spring, the mountainous terrain also suits the 27-year-old Pole. The same goes for Pauliena Rooijakkers.
The team’s sporting director, Ronny Lauke, told Sportschau that they wanted to tackle the moderately difficult stages: “But our goal is to get a rider in the top 5 overall. We also want to aim for the mountains classification and play a good role there.”