Veterans Cup 2013 - With anniversary race "30 years of BMX in Weiterstadt"

There were many great things this year. Since 1983 there has been a BMX track in Weiterstadt with competitions at national and international level. That's why there was an anniversary race this year to mark the 30th anniversary of the BMX division of TSV Braunshardt.

Although it was 12 October 2013, the weather played along quite well. It was dry and the course was in perfect condition, but unfortunately also very cold. But that couldn't dampen the good mood and the wonderful experience of the 19th Veterans Cup.

This time, too, there were lots of lovely guests at the side of the track. The non-active old-schoolers this year were (see photos from left to right): Michaela W.e.n.z.e.l. (former fastest BMXer in Germany), Thomas R.o.h.n.k.e. (Frankfurt professional photographer with BMX roots from the 80s), Lothar B.e.i.n.k.e. (extremely fast old school racer from the 80s from Vechta), Guido N.e.u.m.a.n.n. (well-known veteran), Thorsten S.c.h.r.o.t.h. (young man from Weiterstadt and spokesman for the BMX modern era), Juergen T.i.s.s.m.e.r. with wife (Kölsche Jung, on the road to recovery after injury), Ivi V.i.d.a.k.o.v.i.c. (the German legend, European champion 1985 and multiple German champion), Arkad M.a.n.d.r.i.c.z. (Darmstaedter Oldschooler) and Sven S.t.u.e.b.n.e.r. (Hutch icon from Rodgau), Henry (a unique dog), and of course Hans F.i.s.c.h.e.r (the most experienced BMX starter in Germany and Braunshardter from the very beginning).

In addition to the beautiful people, there were other great news. For example, the track has a new, beautiful booth for the competition court, food and drink sales, etc. In addition, Thomas G.r.e.i.s has once again baked a beautiful BMX-style cake with saddle, handlebar and tyre motifs.

Once again this year, there were an enormous number of beautiful bikes from a wide variety of brands. You can take a closer look at a few of the exhibits below. You can find out exactly who won the beauty contest in the various categories under "Race results".

Not only beautiful bikes, but also beautiful accessories were on display again. Dieter S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i in particular had lots of goodies from the old days. In addition to beautiful clothes, he also presented plates from the 20th century, pedals, cranks, grips, stickers, magazines, pads, etc...

In addition to the bike show and the races, there was also a lot of chatting. When you see the old BMXers, you want to have a good chat. The following pictures show some impressions of who talked shop with whom.

Of course, there were also some nice races. Fortunately, we didn't have any serious crashes this time. Everyone made it through all the heats without injury. The following snapshots show what was going on on the track.

After the preliminary and intermediate heats, we had two very nice finals at the start. In the old school class, Jochen M.e.n.z.e.n on GT took the coveted 1st place, ahead of Mark B.a.l.t.r.u.s.c.h and Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d on Hutch. In the Veterans class, there was a hotly contested final, which Thomas L.a.m.p.r.e.c.h.t won ahead of Tino S.e.i.d.e.l and Daniel V.e.l.t.e.n.

At the final award ceremony, there was a special trophy for the long-standing chairwoman Christiane H.o.e.p.p.i.n.g.. After many years as head of the BMX department at TSV Braunshardt, she stepped down this year and received an award of honour from me for her many years of service to the BMX sport in Weiterstadt. Without Christiane's commitment, there would never have been German or European championships on this track. In addition, the club and the track would not be at the level they are today and the track would not have lasted all these years.

Next year, the Veterans' Cup will be 20 years old. We want to celebrate this anniversary in style by organising a BMX Veterans' Cup World Championship in 2014, the year of the Football World Cup in Brazil. There will be special prizes, events and hopefully a very large starting field. So prepare yourselves accordingly, get your bikes ready, wash your clothes and practise a few starts. The 20th Veterans' Cup will take place in Weiterstadt in summer 2014. We will inform you in good time about the date, programme and further details on this website.

I look forward to seeing you again in Weiterstadt next year for the VC World Championship 2014!
Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z.

P.S.: The photos in this report were taken by Thomas R.o.h.n.k.e, Ulrich J.a.g.u.s.c.h and Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z

Results

19. Veteranencup (2013, Weiterstadt)

Veteranenklasse 1. Thomas L.a.m.p.r.e.c.h.t 2. Tino S.e.i.d.e.l 3. Daniel V.e.l.t.e.n 4. Steffen S.a.e.n.g.e.r 5. Torsten H.a.f.n.e.r 6. Torsten S.i.m.o.n 7. Udo W.a.g.n.e.r 8. David E.m.m.e.r
Oldieklasse 1. Jochen M.e.n.z.e.n 2. Mark B.a.l.t.r.u.s.c.h 3. Joerg A.r.n.o.l.d 4. Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z 5. Michael B.a.l.i.n.t 6. Hamdi A.b.b.a.s 7. Guido N.e.u.m.a.n.n 8. Thomas G.r.e.i.s
Team-Wertung 1. Team "BMX Weiterstadt" (Thomas L.a.m.p.r.e.c.h.t, Udo W.a.g.n.e.r, Tino S.e.i.d.e.l, Torsten S.i.m.o.n) 2. Team "The Eighties" (Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Jochen M.e.n.z.e.n, Dirk H.a.y.n.b.e.r.g) 3. Team "Fritten Express" (Hagen S.t.r.u.n.k, Michael B.a.l.i.n.t, Hamdi A.b.b.a.s) 4. Team "Husky-Team" (Yvonne M.o.h.r.h.a.r.d.t, Juergen W.a.g.n.e.r, Torsten H.a.f.n.e.r) 5. Team "Weisswurscht" (Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Robert H.o.c.h, Thomas K.o.l.l.e.r, Guido N.e.u.m.a.n.n)
King-of-Oldschool 1. Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d (Hutch) 2. Thomas G.r.e.i.s (Hutch) 3. Jochen M.e.n.z.e.n (GT)
Beauty-Contest - Best of Bike Race 1. Mark S.c.h.o.e.l.z.l (Schauff Anaconda Pro) 2. Andreas E.d.e.l (National Pro) 3. Uwe J.u.n.g (Skyway)
Beauty-Contest - Best of Cruiser 1. Gino C.o.r.t.e.s.e (National Pro) 2. Hamdi A.b.b.a.s (GHP)
Beauty-Contest - Best of Freestyle 1. Joerg S.e.e (Rickman Freestyler) 2. Torsten F.i.l.b.i.r (GT Performer)