A total of 47 athletes from 15 nations will be competing in Frankfurt, including a traditionally strong German delegation that will be looking to once again claim victory in all five categories of the UCI Artistic Cycling World Cup.
Single Men: Kohl still riding high
There will be a lot of expectations on six-time UCI World Champion Lukas Kohl, of Kirchehrenbach. Since his first UCI World title in 2016, the world record holder has continued to dominate the Single Men competitions. At the Bavarian State Championships a week ago, he scored 212 points – a figure higher than any of his rivals submitted as a starting point for the freestyle.
A man that will not take defeat lying down is Spaniard Emilio Arellano, who wasraised in Germany and wants to break the Kohl domination. Member of the Oberjesingen cycling club, he went through the German development system and was a member of the U19 national team. Since his move to the Elite class three years ago, he has been competing for the country of his father, Jose Arellano, and won bronze at the 2021 and 2022 UCI World Championships.
Another German-bred Spanish athlete who will take to the Fabriksporthalle on Saturday is Daniel Andrés Hecktor, who will be competing as well as organising the Frankfurt round with his club Germania Tempo Höchst.
Act4: Switzerland v Germany
In the Act4 competition, a battle between women's quartets from Switzerland and Germany is looming in the four-round 2023 UCI World Cup series.
The favourites for Germany are reigning UCI World Champions Tijem Karatas, Annika Rosenbach, Stella Rosenbach and Milena Schwarz from Mainz-Ebersheim, who almost have a home competition in Frankfurt, which is just a few kilometres from their neighbouring city in the Rhine-Main region. But last year’s UCI World Cup winners RSV Steinhöring will not give up without a fight.
Switzerland, meanwhile, also has two Act4 teams, including silver medallists at last year’s UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships, Kunstrad Baar 1 (Vanessa Hotz, Carole Ledergerber, Flavia Schürmann and Stefanie Moos).
UCI World Champions and UCI World Cup winners
The retirement of Pair Women UCI World Champions Sophie-Marie Wöhrle and Caroline Wurth, (RSV Gutach) means last year’s UCI World Cup winners Selina Marquardt and Helen Vordermeier (Oberjesingen/Stuttgart) will be going into this year’s competition clear favourites.
Single Women UCI World Champion Jana Pfann and her Bruckmühl clubmate and 2022 UCI World Cup winner Ramona Dandl will both be looking for solid first performances in Frankfurt, as will Pair Open UCI World Champions Max Hanselmann and Serafin Schefold (RVÖhringen) and their runners-up Nico Rödiger and Lea-Victoria Styber (Langenselbold), winners of the 2022 UCI World Cup.
After Frankfurt am Main, the 2023 UCI Artistic Cycling World Cup will continue in Bruckmühl, (Germany) on 27 May, Kisvárda (Hungary) on 28 October and conclude with the Final in Merelbeke (Belgium) on 25 November.