The German top sprinters Lea Sophie Friedrich and Emma Hinze were stopped by the competition at the Track Cycling World Championships in Keirin. They still have a chance in the sprint.
After all their successes, the German track cycling stars Lea Sophie Friedrich and Emma Hinze apparently don’t get anything for free from their opponents. The two sprinters experienced this in the Keirin sprint at the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow. Chased by the competition, defending champion Friedrich had to settle for bronze on Sunday evening (08/06/2023), Hinze even dropped out in the semi-finals.
Hinze: “It was worse before”
“If someone were world champion twice and I wasn’t, I would always look at how she drives. It’s no secret how I drive,” said Friedrich, who triumphed in the discipline in 2021 and 2022.
And Hinze – who has already won two World Cup golds in Glasgow – notices how her opponents are targeting her. “It used to be worse, at the Olympics, for example. But I notice in general that it’s like that. You just have to deal with it. It’s recognition in itself,” emphasized the 25-year-old, who in the insignificant run for seventh place twelve almost collided with her young teammate Alessa Catriona Pröpster.
Friedrich and Hinze with decisive mistakes
Since her fall in the Champions League, the Keirin discipline has been “a bit difficult” for her, said Hinze, who was particularly annoyed by her own mistakes: “I didn’t drive that smart.” She had to drive long distances on the wooden oval in the semi-finals, and in the end she lacked strength. Friedrich also made a crucial faux pas in the final. When the 23-year-old initially took the lead, she allowed herself to be sprinted over and pinched. “I was annoyed because I should have reacted earlier. It’s disappointing at first,” said Friedrich.
She and Hinze had won gold in the team sprint together with Pauline Grabosch at the start. Hinze also won the 500-meter time trial, in which Friedrich secured bronze. There are now more medal chances in the sprint competition, which starts on Monday (07.08.2023).