Germany tour
More than a consolation prize: Buchmann hopes for a home win
Instead of driving the Vuelta, Emanuel Buchmann is now aiming for a good placement on the Deutschland Tour. photo
© Jean-Christophe Bott/KEYSTONE/dpa
A start in the Tour of Spain was actually planned for Emanuel Buchmann. Because an infection stopped him, he is now the beacon of hope on the Germany tour.
Plan B should be more than a consolation prize. Since Emanuel Buchmann had to give up a start in the Tour of Spain for a short time last week, he is now leading the German team Bora-hansgrohe on the Germany tour starting in Weimar and is the big star.
The profile of the five-day race with the king’s stage on the Schauinsland also ensures that the narrow climbing specialist is the top favorite for overall victory.
Here sports director Rolf Aldag slows down and refers to the Ravensburger’s urinary tract infection that has just been overcome. “To be fair, we have to say that we don’t know exactly what’s going on,” the 53-year-old told dpa. “One thing is being healthy, the other is riding a bike fast. So was there enough time to get healthy and fit or was it just enough to be healthy?”
Buchmann is aiming for a good placement
Buchmann sounds a little more optimistic. “I hope to go to the Germany tour with my Vuelta form,” said the tour specialist. The past few days of training have been much better. “That’s why I’m definitely aiming for a good placement.”
When the body cooperates. The fact that his health got in the way has been a bitter reality for Buchmann since his fourth place in the 2019 Tour de France. Falls, corona, infections – the 29-year-old was slowed down again and again. “After the last two years, when nothing came together for me, this year it’s about finding stability again,” Buchmann told dpa. He described seventh place at the Giro in May as “quite okay”, the big attack should follow at the Vuelta.
Since this plan collapsed in the short term, Buchmann now wants to show the home fans the form he developed in the high-altitude training camp. Although the prologue in Weimar, which is held on road bikes, will be about important seconds, the tour will certainly be decided on the penultimate day in the Black Forest on the 1284 meter high Schauinsland. According to Aldag, Buchmann could “drive up front”.
Geschke is looking forward to the king’s stage
On the other hand, the fans have to do without two other German stars. Neither Giro stage winner Lennard Kämna nor Maximilian Schachmann, who once drove for a young Thuringian team, are there. The duo still has health problems from the Tour de France, and Schachmann will soon be a father for the first time. “Sometimes you have to step back and catch your breath,” emphasized Aldag. “It’s no use sending boys who are half fit to the fire.”
Egan Bernal is far from in top form. The 2019 Tour winner is contesting his second race on the Deutschland Tour after his terrible training accident earlier this year. Bernal suffered more than 20 broken bones in his native Colombia when he crashed into a stationary bus without braking. The 25-year-old made his comeback in Denmark last week. “It was indescribable to finally put on a number again,” said Bernal. Above all, he wants to use the only major German stage race to collect racing kilometers.
In addition to Buchmann, the German fans will be particularly excited about Simon Geschke. The veteran won a lot of sympathy with his bravura appearance at the Tour de France and the days in the mountain jersey and drives the race in the jersey of the German national team. For Geschke, the fact that the king’s stage starts in his home town of Freiburg is the emotional highlight. “The profile suits me very well and I probably know the course better than anyone else in the peloton,” said the 36-year-old.