However their route to gold was not all plain sailing. In their final routine, in which each of the two demonstrated a handstand on the saddle and handlebar, Hanselmann had to stop. This element had already failed them in the preliminary round, when it was Schefold who had to stop, and this time it cost the pair nine points. The advantage over the top result of their competitors Lea-Victoria Styber/ Nico Rödinger (Germany) diminished.
Nevertheless, the regulations allow for tactical figures. "We are very happy that there is the opportunity to score additional points," Schefold admitted. Schefold/Hanselmann used this option, collecting several points in the course of their routine. Compared to the preliminary round, when they had almost a double fall and the last exercise went over the time limit, it went flawlessly.
"I started calculating in my head after the first figure, but then quickly forced myself to concentrate again," said Schefold. The same phenomenon befell his partner, who performs the shoulder stands: “I looked at the scoreboard later to see where we stood."
In the end, the two remained focused until the end, did not allow themselves any more mistakes and won their fifth successive title.
Gold for Germany 🌈🥇
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) November 4, 2022
Schefold-Hanselmann become the first gold medallists of the 2022 UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships #Ghent2022 pic.twitter.com/cEEnLpxtvy
Silver and bronze for Germany and Austria
Fellow Germans Lea-Victoria Styber and Nico Rödiger had hoped for the title for a brief time, having won the preliminary round. "But we knew that even with a perfect routine we only have a chance of winning gold if Serafin and Max make mistakes again," said Nico Rödiger. And so, after their competitors’ mistake, the gold medal came within their reach for a short while, because Styber/Rödiger had presented 158.73 points, their best routine on the international stage. Compared to qualifying a few hours earlier, they improved again by almost two points. And the fact that they twice showed such a good routine should be recognised, said Rödiger: "We are completely satisfied and very happy about our second runner-up title."
Once again, bronze went to Marcel Schnetzer and Katharina Kühne from Austria. They said goodbye with an almost perfect routine despite some problems at the beginning. In the end, their 145.41 points were enough for a third bronze medal in their fourth and final joint appearance at the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships. Kühne wants to continue her professional education. "There will be no time left to continue training for this level” she says. Partner Schnetzer, however, continues as a solo rider and thus looks ahead to his second appearance in Ghent on Saturday.
Fourth place went to Jeff and Ronald Lim from Hong Kong, scoring 99.97.
Cycle-ball: nail-biting preliminary rounds
The start of the evening session of the first day at the 2022 UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships (ICWC) was entirely to the fans’ liking. The first match in cycle-ball Group A was between defending champions Germany and hosts Belgium.
Accordingly, the mood in the hall boiled. But the hoped-for element of surprise did not turn out for the underdogs Brecht Damen and Niels Dirikx. The two Belgians, who are playing their last tournament together, lost 2:5.
Meanwhile, the duel between last year’s silver medallists Severin and Benjamin Waibel from Switzerland and outsiders France (Mathias and Quentin Seyfried) was nail-biting from start to finish. The French took the lead twice in the second period after a 0:0 scoreline at half-time. But Switzerland compensated for both goals and in the end it was 2:2.
In the final encounter, Austria had to work hard to defeat the Czech Republic. The multiple UCI World Champion Patrick Schnetzer, together with Stefan Feuerstein, prevailed against the duo of Robert Zvolanek and Jiri Hrdlicka (replacement for the injured Jan Havlicek) with a final score of 6:4. Twice the Czechs had fought back after a 0:2 deficit to make it 2:3 and later 3:4.
Artistic cycling Single Women: Germany, Switzerland and Austria go through
At the end of the evening, the preliminary round was concluded in the Single Women. As expected, the two German riders Ramona Dandl (181.60 points) and European Champion Jana Pfann (180.11) secured their places in Saturday’s Final 4. Alongside them are Alessa Hotz (Switzerland, 166.59 points) and last year's silver medallist Lorena Schneider (Austria, 166.17).
On Saturday, the preliminary rounds of the cycle-ball will continue and artistic cycling medals awarded in Women Single and Act4.