Michael Rich, Uwe Peschel, Jan Ullrich, Bert Grabsch and Tony Martin - Germany constantly produces time trial specialists at the elite level. Nils Politt (Stölting) could be the next one.
This season the German showed himself with a sixth place in the time trial of the Tour of Bavaria (2.HC) despite being just 21 years old. He also placed sixth overall at the only German stage race for professionals but at the German Championships the defending champion in the U23 time trial was narrowly beaten by his teammate Lennard Kämna.
"My season balance is very good. I was able to improve in comparison to the previous season. This gives me self-confidence and shows that together with my coach I do things right," Pollitt told radsport-news.com.
That he is more than a time triallist was evident when he finished third at the Belgian Kattekoers Classic (1.2). He did even better at the German U23 road race Championships. In Bruchsal Politt defied the unbearable heat of 40 degrees and took an impressive solo victory.
However, Politt also had to deal with a major disappointment as he was not selected by the German Cycling Federation for the Worlds squad for Richmond. He was targeting a spot in the U23 ITT but the federation preferred to line up his teammate Kämna and Maximilian Schachenmann (AWT Greenway). "I was really convinced that I would be selected," said Pollitt.
However, he was not frustrated for long because his strong performance secured him a ride as a stagiaire at Katusha and in the last weeks of the season at the Russian WorldTour team he earned himself a professional contract. "So it was just a small tear that was wiped out quickly," he said about the non-selection.
In the Katusha jersey, Politt primarily wants to be a reliable helper. "But maybe I can make it into the top 15 in a time trial somewhere. That would be a great success for me," he said.
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