Hanke Kupfernagel will lead the German team in the 'cross world championships this coming weekend. The World time trial champion and three-time 'cross world champion is also the 2007 German female cyclist of the year, and is looking to add to her collection of titles.
"Treviso will be a very tactical race," Kupfernagel said. "I'll have to have a bit of luck, too." The other German women starters are Stephanie Pohl, Birgit Hollman and Susanne Juranek.
Five riders will be in the men's U23 race, and national trainer Patrick Moster says that "anything between places two and ten is possible." The riders are Philipp Walsleben, Paul Voss, Marcel Meisen, Ole Quast and Yannick Tiedt. A top ten finish would be a major success for juniors Josef Rauber, Max Walsleben, Michael Schweizer and Toni Bretschneider.
The German elite men have lower expectations and Moster would be satisfied with a finish between places ten and twenty for the team of Malte Urban, Rene Birkenfeld, Johannes Sickmüller and Finn Heitmann.
