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Veterans Cup 2023 for the 40th anniversary of BMX in Weiterstadt

1983 to 2023, that means 40 years of BMX at TSV Braunshardt in Weiterstadt. What has not happened on this track, from the German Championships in 1984 to the European Championships in 1986, Hessen Championships, countless national league races and other German championship races. And, of course, the Veterans Cup since 1995, this year for the 29th time! As so often in recent years, the weather was very good, the atmosphere excellent, the bikes on display very numerous and the races exciting.

Who was there this time? Who was riding? Who was watching? Which bikes won at the beauty show? And who came out on top in the races? As always, you can find all the results below. If you want to know which riders registered in the race classes, you can find out under "Veterans' Cup statistics". There was a lot going on again, let us describe this in more detail below.

A great surprise came from Berlin this time: Andreas "Elle" G.i.l.l.m.e.i.s.t.e.r came to visit, one of the most famous BMXers from the 80s. He was one of the "test riders" of the BMX Special and Speed magazines from the very beginning in Germany and drew the cartoons for the magazines. Sensational to see Elle again after so many years! Henry P.a.w.l.a.k was able to convince him to come and see us and he liked it so much that he wants to come back. Elle had even created his own shirt just for this day, so he was able to live out his creative passion to the full. In addition to these two Berlin old-schoolers, there were other onlookers in Weiterstadt, e.g. Willi F.o.r.m.a.n.e.k, Ralf F.r.u.e.c.h.t.l, Hans F.i.s.c.h.e.r, Peter S.c.h.n.a.u.b.e.r, Stephan B.o.u.r.e.n, Arkad M.a.n.d.r.i.c.z, Andreas E.d.l. etc

The starter lists were very high-calibre this year. Not only did a total of 45 riders register in the three classes Veterans, Oldies and No-Chain. There were also very prominent old-schoolers at the start: in addition to the loyal permanent guests Uwe B.u.r.d.a.c.k, Dirk W.a.e.h.l.e.r, Olaf K.l.e.i.n and Robert H.o.c.h (all 21 entries each) were once again joined by Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h (17 starts), Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d and Dirk H.a.y.n.b.e.r.g (both 14 entries) and Marijus B.u.n.t.i.c (13 entries). It was also nice to see Oliver M.i.t.t.e back at the start for the tenth time after a two-year absence. In addition to the aforementioned veterans, there were also former BMX stars who had won several titles in the 20th century. For example, the multiple German champion and 1988 runner-up Oliver K.i.e.n.z.l.e, 1985 European champion Ivi V.i.d.a.k.o.v.i.c (back at the Veterans' Cup after 6 years), German champion and 1986 European runner-up Jochen M.e.n.n.z.e.n and Hutch Factory rider Uli M.a.u.r.e.r (last Veterans' Cup 21 years ago). 12 riders took part in the Veterans' Cup for the first time in 2023, 33 riders have between 2 and 26 starts on the clock.

Fortunately, there were (almost) no crashes in the races this year, and the few that did occur had no consequences. There was an exciting race in the veterans' category and the prizes were awarded as follows at the prize-giving ceremony: 1st place Thomas E.n.c.k, 2nd place Jens L.i.n.d.e.r, 3rd place Pascal B.l.u.m.h.a.g.e.n, in the other places Christian K.e.e.s, Andreas E.f.f.e.r.l, Uwe B.u.r.d.a.c.k, Torsten B.a.h.r and Andreas K.o.c.h

The lucky winners on the podium looked like this.

After six years, the oldies class was once again won by perennial winner Oliver K.i.e.n.z.l.e. The riders in the following places were in the following order: 2nd place Oli K.n.o.l.l, 3rd place Nino N.a.g.e.l, followed by Olaf K.l.e.i.n, Ivi V.i.d.a.k.o.v.i.c, Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Jochen M.e.n.z.e.n and Mark B.a.l.t.r.u.s.c.h in places 4-8.

The chainless races in the "No-Chain-Class" were just as exciting, with Flo B.l.e.y.l.e.r coming out on top in the end and taking victory. Sebastian R.i.e.d came second, Thorsten M.a.t.e.r.i third and Reynoud F.o.p.p.e.n took the remaining places ahead of Robert H.o.c.h, Marijus B.u.n.t.i.c and Marcus S.t.o.e.c.k.e.l.

There were enough entries for the team classification this year. Depending on the ranking in the three race classes, points were awarded to the individual riders; the team with the fewest points came first (the best three riders in each team were ranked). The first three places went to the following teams: 1st place: Team "Kinderradl Gang Member" (Sebastian R.i.e.d, Flo B.l.e.y.l.e.r, Robert H.o.c.h, Thorsten M.a.t.e.r.i), 2nd place: Team "Golden Boys" (Jens L.i.n.d.e.r, Dirk H.a.y.n.b.e.r.g, Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Andreas E.f.f.e.r.l), 3rd place: Team "InTeam" (Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Christian P.e.n.n.o, Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d, Helmut A.d.e.l.s.b.e.r.g.e.r).

Rainer S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i was unable to organise the beauty show this year as he was unable to come to Weiterstadt. The jury this year consisted of the old-schoolers Markus G.r.u.e.n.w.a.l.d, Jörg S.e.e and Jörg S.t.r.i.c.k.e.r. Many thanks to the jurors for providing their expertise and the time they invested in assessing and evaluating the many old-school bikes. It felt like there were even more bikes this year than in previous years and the quality of the exhibits is getting better every year.

A selection of the bikes

The most beautiful bikes were honoured in the following categories: In the category "Beauty Contest - Roots-of-BMX (built before 1981)", Thomas K.a.u.f.f.e.l.d (Cook 79) came first, followed by Oliver K.i.e.n.z.l.e (Yamaha Moto Bike) and Jörg S.t.r.i.c.k.e.r (Ame's) in third place.

Robert I.v.a.n.o.w.s.k.i (SE Quadangle) took first place in the "Beauty Contest - Pro Class (80ies)" ahead of Markus G.r.u.e.n.w.a.l.d (Pro Sight) and Gian F.r.a.n.c.o (Kuwahara).

In the "Beauty Contest - Expert Class (80ies & 90ies)", Kai G.r.e.i.s.s.i.n.g.e.r (Redline Platinum) took first place ahead of Manuel S.c.h.n.e.i.d.e.r (Robinson) and Brillski (Powerlite).

In the "Beauty Contest - Junior Class (80s, 90s & 2000s)", Christian P.e.n.n.o (Steel Panther) took first place ahead of Danilo D.o.l.o.v.a.c (SE Quadangle) in 2nd place and Stefan T.r.i.n.i (Challenger 24) in 3rd place.

The "Beauty Contest - Cruiser (24-inch)" went to Ivan D.o.m.i.t.r.o.v.i.c (Profile 24) in 1st place, ahead of Detlef H.o.p.p.e (GHP) in 2nd place and Andreas B.e.n.t.h.i.e.n (Free Agent 24) in 3rd place.

In the "Beauty Contest - Freestyler" category, Erik R.o.s.e.n.k.r.a.n.z (GT Performer purple, year 1985) narrowly won ahead of Erik R.o.s.e.n.k.r.a.n.z (GT Performer white, year 1985) and Frank N.o.w.i.t.z.k.i (Dyno Pro Comp, year 1989).

The special class of the "King of Oldschool (bike AND clothing are judged)" went to Manuel W.a.n.d.z.i.g (Schwinn) in 1st place, Danilo D.o.l.o.v.a.c (Free Agent) in 2nd place and Jaro K.n.a.p (GT Pro) in 3rd place.

The special prize "Best of Bike Show (THE perfect bike incl. presentation)" went to Mark S.c.h.o.e.l.z.l (Torker 82 LP Long).

As in previous years, there was a bunny hop contest at the end of the Veterans' Cup. Last year's winner Flo B.l.e.y.e.r from Munich competed against new challengers. And although Flo B.l.e.y.l.e.r jumped 80 cm higher than Sebastian R.i.e.d with 70 cm, he was only able to take second place. Someone else even managed to clear the bar with 95 cm, setting a new Veterans' Cup record! Dominic P.a.r.c.h.o.m.y.k won by a large margin and was celebrated accordingly by the spectators.

On both Friday and Saturday evening, the old-schoolers met up in an Ebbelwoi pub and enjoyed a relaxed end to the day. Hopefully the pub will still be open next year, then we'll certainly be happy to come again.

Finally, I would like to thank my club TSV Braunshardt very much for the stage that we were given again this year for the Veterans' Cup. The event would not have been possible without the club's loyal support. In addition to the many countless helpers with catering, registration, pre-runners, course judges, speakers, finish line judges etc., I would especially like to thank the chairman Jens L.i.n.d.e.r and above all Lutz M.o.h.r.h.a.r.d.t.. Lutz in particular helped me a lot in the run-up to the event, especially with the creation of the T-shirts, stickers etc. Many thanks for that! Thank you very much for that!

That was 2023, the year of the 40th anniversary of the TSV Braunshardt BMX department. In the next year 2024 we will celebrate another anniversary: The 30th Veterans Cup will take place in Weiterstadt in 2024. I would like to invite you again to this special occasion and hope that you will all turn up in large numbers. We will offer you a special programme. Let us surprise you and come to the 30th Veterans' Cup in Weiterstadt! See you there!

Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z.

P.S.: The photos in this report were taken by Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Marijus B.u.n.t.i.c and other photographers. Many thanks to all of them for making them available.