Sprint train
As Sprinterzug a strategic maneuver is referred to in road bicycle racing, which is used in mass sprints in the final of cycling.
Strategy of the Sprinter train
These formed the crew of a strong sprint specialists during the last kilometer a " train " of three to six riders at the front of the peloton and keeps the pace as high as possible to thwart breakaways and the Sprinter 's own team to a few hundred meters before the finish in to bring an optimal sprint position. Thus, the speed of the peloton is on the last five kilometers, usually at 55-60 km / h, not infrequently it. The individual " Anfahrer " of the team - usually three to five - take over after another in a largely fixed order, the leadership of the field. The closer the target moves, the more " Anfahrer " fall back down to the finish line finally only the sprint star remains.
A detail of the overall formation Sprinterzug is the so-called " contact". His job is to remain at the rear of the Sprint Stars and prevent other promising sprinter because there " bogged down ".
Variants of the sprint train are practiced especially in regard to the role of the last Anfahrers. In the standard case, he has to take a slightly longer lead and to delay the pace of 400-500 meters before the finish even a little, so that his master may play its response speed and can not be so easily überspurtet from the slipstream of the competitors. Variants of this concept are possible when a team over a " last man " has, which is an excellent sprinter himself. In this case, the last Anfahrer comes much later in the guide and provides himself with his own teammates a sprint at the top. The competition has made it so difficult to "the right opponent " pick and overtake out of the slipstream.
Known Sprinter trains
The tactics of the Sprinter train developed in the late 80s and 90s, has now but the tactical situation of mass sprints changed dramatically. As the first sprinter who has built a consistently tailored to sprint train him, the Italian Mario Cipollini applies. In fact, however, the Belgian Freddy Maertens the "inventor" of the Sprinter train. He drove the for that time unusually high ratio of 54:12 (today typically 53/11 ) in the sprints. In order to accelerate this translation, he needed a high initial speed, which is why he used the support of his teammates as Anfahrer.
Cipollini made especially during his time at his Saeco team as a " treno rosso" ( " red train " ) the trademark. His most important " Anfahrer " were Mario Scirea and Gian Matteo Fagnini. The qualities Fagninis in this " cycling discipline " were very good: after all, he was lured away by the time the T-Mobile team to support Erik Zabel sprints.
Besides Fagnini and Scirea especially her compatriot Giovanni Lombardi was one of the best Anfahrern the world. Among the active athletes today the Australian Mark Renshaw, the Belgian Gert Steegmans, the German Danilo Hondo and the New Zealander Julian Dean are considered ideal Sprint preparers.
Meanwhile, the concept of " Sprintzugs " from other drivers - especially Alessandro Petacchi, Mark Cavendish and Tom Boonen - taken over and perfected. Sometimes Sprinter trains are successfully built in the context of world championships, so the World Cup victory of Cipollini for Italy in 2002, but also by the women: Here it is primarily the Equipe Nürnberger that consistently and successfully for Petra Rossner, Trixi Worrack and the concept Regina Schleicher transposed and this last did so in the context of the national team, so that Regina Schleicher in this way the 2005 World Cup won.