On Friday, July 28th, Sarah Ahrens, Imke Heins and Nele Brandt from the unicycle group “Einradgirls Zeven” made their way to the European Unicycle Championship in Sittard Gleen in the Netherlands.
According to the motto “Being there is everything” they bluntly tried their luck at the competition on a European level.
The three young women set off for the Netherlands with Sarah’s red speedster, specially adorned with “EM 2017”. They moved into a super sports hotel, which also housed soccer and handball teams. However, they slept in the adjacent gym in the so-called “FUNROOM”, but with a first-class breakfast.
10 km Unicycle Race
The 10 km standard unicycle race was contested as the first competition. The racing witches that were newly acquired in the previous year were used here, thanks to a donation from Hansa Landhandel.
With the starting numbers 682 Sarah Ahrens, 683 Imke Heins and 666 Marie Schlenker, they went on a 2.5 km long circular course. This included a mountain with a 15% gradient that had to be conquered four times. An exhausting affair that demanded stamina and speed from the drivers. After a time of 43:57, Imke Heins reached the finish line in the female age group 19 to 29 in 18th place. Shortly afterwards, Sarah Ahrens followed in 22nd place with a time of 47:88. When asked about their feelings after the race, both said now they need a break first. Sarah: “It was very exhausting”. Imke: “It was still a lot of fun.” The internationally experienced competitor Marie Schlenker took 10th place with a time of 37: 24.247.
Freestyle Small Group
The next start was in the competition category Freestyle Small Group female age group 19+. As Unistyler Elbe-Weser, Sarah Ahrens (682), Imke Heins (683), Nele Brandt (684), Ronja Timmermann (696), Marie Schlenker (666) and Lilli Böttcher (769) finished 12th as absolute newcomers.
Due to their work and study commitments at various locations in Lower Saxony and Bremen, coordinating their training in the preparation phase was a major challenge. That is why every free time on the weekends was used to train in Zeven, Bremen or Hanover. As a result, a real team spirit developed among the women and over time they grew closer and closer together.
Imke: “We practised a lot and were really afraid that we would not be able to keep up with the European leaders. The competition then went very well for us. Through our performance and acrobatics, we were able to pull a lot out of it. After the competition, we lost all tension. We were overjoyed and felt we were the winners despite being 12th.”
The remaining time at the European Unicycle Championship was used by the young women to make contact with unicyclists from other disciplines such as flat, street, trial and high jump from Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland and to gather their first skills in these disciplines. With many new friendships from the unicycling sport in their luggage, the three set out on their way home on Sunday, August 6th.
Gilas Dream comes true
Gisela Drosten is the founder and long-term supervisor of the unicycle girls Zeven. Now a dream came true for them with the start of the unicycle girls’ competition at the European Championships. Together with the internationally experienced competitor Marie Schlenker, a small group freestyle with EM format was successfully established after 13 years.
If you want to see more unicycle girl appearances, then take a look at the Einradgirls Zeven page! There you will also find current information on events.
