The opening round of the 2024 UCI Artistic Cycling World Cup took place in the Italian town of Tarquinia, on the Tyrrhenian coast about 80km north-west of Rome. It was the first international indoor cycling competition to take place in Italy in more than 70 years.
Some athletes who are new to the UCI World Cup put in top-three performances to join some of the series’ established favourites on the podium.
Pair Open: Schefold and Hanselmann show their class
The Pair Open competition was notable by the absence of last year’s UCI World Cup winners Nico Rödiger and Lea-Victoria Styber (RC Langenselbold, GER), due to Styber’s injury. Victory in the opening round went to another German pair: UCI World Champions Serafin Schefold and Max Hanselmann (Öhringen/GER) were in a league of their own, outclassing the day’s competition with 157.53 points.
Behind them, UCI World Cup newcomers Niklas Kreuzmann and Celine Stapf (Soden/ GER - 104.62 points) created the surprise, finishing in second place in front of brothers Alexander and Daniel Stark (Bernlohe/GER - 100.98).
Single Men: Kohl rolls on
UCI World Cup winner Lukas Kohl – the German who has won all competitions in this UCI series since 2018 – added victory in Tarquinia to his impressive tally.
Although his spin jump only registered 3.5 instead of his usual five times, the champion was the only one to score above 200 points (200.60 points).
“For the beginning of March and the not easy conditions, I am quite satisfied,” was the positive conclusion of Lukas Kohl, who struggled with the condition of the competition area.
UCI World Championships silver medallist Philipp-Thies Rapp (Tailfingen/GER - 192.59) finished second, followed by UCI World Cup newcomer Simon Köcher (Öschelbronn/GER - 174.19). Behind him, the Spaniard Emilio Arellano (Oberjesingen), third at last year’s UCI World Championships, had to settle for fourth place.
Pairs Women: Kirst and Bärk back together and on top
Success in the Pairs Women went to the 2022 European Championship runners-up, Henny Kirst and Antonia Bärk (Bonn-Duisdorf/GER). They were competing together again after a year going their separate ways, and lived up to their role of favourites, winning with 131.03 points.
The defending UCI World Cup overall winners Annice Niedermayer and Jessie Hasmüller (Denkendorf/Magstadt - GER) scored 111.55 points to finish second, while third place went to the UCI World Cup newcomers Kim Leah Schlüter/Nele Jodeleit (Knetterheide/GER - 100.84).
Single Women: 1-2 for Bruckmühl
There was a club 1-2 in the Single Women competition. Former UCI World Champion Jana Pfann (Bruckmühl/GER) showed the best freestyle with 184 points in the largest field of participants (13 starters). Behind her, UCI World Champion and club colleague Ramona Dandl finished second with a substantial points deficit (164.63).
Switzerland's Alessa Hotz (Baar) broke into the German stonghold, finishing just behind Dandl with a score of 163.58 while Lara Füller (Poppenweiler/GER - 162.13) just missed the podium; the UCI World Championships silver medallist was not yet in full shape after overcoming illness and a break from training.
The local stars, Magdalena Müller (137.66) and Giuliana Zübner (133.16), who rode for the Italian ASD PRO-BIKE Riding Team, finished sixth and seventh respectively.
ACT 4: Swiss victory
The UCI World Cup round’s only Swiss victory came in ACT 4. Stefanie Haas, Valerie Unternährer, Selina Niedermann and Sarah Manser (Uzwil/SUI), who started from third on the grid, set the bar very high with 222.21 points.
The UCI World Championship runners-up from Mainz-Ebersheim (GER) failed to match them. Tijem Karats, Annika and Stella Rosenbach, and Milena Schwarz scored 210.11 points and finished second ahead of RfV Wiednitz (GER) in their UCI World Cup debut with (181.7 points). The UCI World Champions from Baar (SUI) did not compete in Italy.
The next round of the 2024 UCI Artistic Cycling World Cup will take place on 15 June in Hohenems, Austria.