Two top German cycle-ball teams are currently on an international farewell tour. UCI World Champions André Kopp and Raphael Kopp (RV Obernfeld), and National Champions Bernd Mlady and Gerhard Mlady (RMC Stein) have each announced they will finish their joint careers at the end of 2023.
For Obernfeld's goalkeeper André Kopp, a substitute at eight UCI World Championships, the end of his career had been clear for some time. Then, in August 2023, at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, he and his cousin Raphael fulfilled their dream of competing in the tournament themselves. The long wait had proven to be worthwhile, with the pair awarded the rainbow jersey of UCI World Champions.
At the same time, it became known that the Mlady cousins were also to end their joint career in 2024, as goalkeeper Gerhard Mlady is ready to hang up his bike.
Phoenix rising from the ashes
Word quickly got around that a new team would emerge from the two remaining riders of these top disbanding German teams: the two wingers Raphael Kopp and Bernd Mlady are set to compete together as a new team from 2024. It has not yet been decided which club they will play for, according to Bernd Mlady, who confirmed the coup at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
Kopp and Mlady rely on their many years of experience, especially as joint training sessions will have to be the exception given they are separated by 300 kilometres. "We've known each other for years from training camps and tournaments," says Bernd Mlady. They both have strong sparring partners in their own clubs.
As competitors, the two will meet for the last time at the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup final on 25 November in Zlín (Czechia).
After playing three of the five UCI World Cup rounds so far, Obernfeld have already secured one of the ten places in the final round with 115 points. Stein followed suit with the second victory in their second 2023 UCI World Cup appearance: in Ginsheim, Germany, at the weekend, Bernd and Gerhard Mlady prevailed against the 2022 UCI World Cup overall winners and 2023 UCI World Championship bronze medallists Patrick Schnetzer/ Stefan Feuerstein (Dornbirn/AUT). The final was a close affair, ending with a score of 6:5 in favour of the Germans. Stein will therefore compete as the favourite at the last preliminary round tournament on 14 October in St.Gallen, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the fact that they can still compete very well internationally was proven in Ginsheim by local heroes Roman Müller and Jens Krichbaum. This is another team that had come together a few years ago with competitors from different clubs due to the retirement of their respective partners.
At their home UCI World Cup tournament, also celebrating the 125th anniversary of RSG Ginsheim, Müller/Krichbaum started with a wildcard. Only narrowly defeated by former UCI World Champions Stein in their first encounter, Ginsheim finished runner-up in the preliminary round to reach their goal of participating in the semi-finals. After losing 7-2 to the 2022 UCI World Champions Dornbirn, Müller/Krichbaum had to admit defeat to RSC Schiefbahn (Marius Hermanns / Sven Holland-Moritz) in the all-German play-off for third place.
2023 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup results
2023 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup ranking
Photo: André Kopp and Raphael Kopp (RV Obernfeld)