Augsburg's Marco Brenner is one of the greatest young hopefuls in German cycling. He will soon sign the first professional contract at the age of 17.
To explain why his son Marco is one of the greatest cycling talents worldwide at the age of 17, father Christian Brenner likes to tell the episode of his schooling. “A friend of ours said to him: Gell, now you have to learn to write, do arithmetic and read diligently. Marco then replied: I don't need that, I'm going to be a professional cyclist. ”Around ten years later, the time has come: In spring, the young road racing cyclist from Augsburg will sign a professional contract.
Where, that's not yet clear, because the name Brenner electrifies the scene. And not only since he won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in the time trial in Yorkshire in September as a 17-year-old among the 18-year-olds. "We are already communicating with a few teams, but it is not yet certain where I will go," says Marco. We, that's him, his father and the sports marketing agency Corso. If you look around on the homepage of the two owners João Correia and Ken Sommer, you will see that a specialist is taking care of Marco Brenner’s professional future. Among the clients listed are the reigning world champion Mads Pedersen from Denmark, or the German professional cyclist Rick Zabel.
Brenner has dominated the young generation of his year for years
Marco Brenner has been on the big teams scouting lists for a long time. He has dominated the junior racing scene in his class for years. The trophy cabinet in his parents' apartment in Jakobervorstadt can hardly hold the many trophies. He has won almost 100 victories in various junior classes so far. This year, for example, he became a German junior champion in the individual time trial and on the road. He won three stages of the prestigious “Giro della Lunigiana” tour in Italy, the World Cup classification, the overall ranking of the Upper Austria tour and the Tour du Pays de Vaud in Switzerland.
"Marco is certainly one of the greatest talents in road cycling in the past ten years," says Patrick Moster, the competitive sports director at the Association of German Cyclists (BDR). The 52-year-old from the Palatinate region is not considered an euphoric person, but when he talks about Brenner, he becomes enthusiastic: "His physiological requirements are enormous." Even Jan Ulrich did not have such good results in performance diagnostics (for example, oxygen saturation) at this age. be able to show. These genetically determined advantages, coupled with the enormous ambition and zeal for training, make up the strength of Brenner.
Moster is certain: "You have to be careful with young people, but if Marco continues like this, he can definitely establish himself in the world class at 25, 26."
Marco Brenner's talent was recognized early on
Those who dominate their year in this way are often subliminally associated with doping. "Sure, someone says, what does Marco get to eat? And you don't always know exactly whether it's a joke, ”says father Christian seriously and, as evidence, puts a folder with dozens of pink copies on the kitchen table. A doping sample is documented on each individual. "In cycling there are some of the strictest controls of all sports", Christian Brenner is certain. And as a successful driver you are in focus anyway. "Marco doesn't go to the bathroom after the races, because he is actually always checked."
His father Christian discovered early on that Marco had talent. The 49-year-old was a very reasonable cyclist himself. First at the RSG Augsburg, then at the E-Racers Augsburg. At five, Marco was on his first mountain bike. "At the age of seven, he drove his first road race in Italy because it wasn't allowed in Germany at this age," says Christian Brenner.
Marco (right, with the World Cup bronze medal) and Mauro Brenner ensure that the cupboard with the trophies almost overflows.
For a long time he trained Marco and his two years younger brother Mauro himself. The whole life of the Brenner family revolves around cycling. Marco and Mauro grow up on the bike. Almost every weekend the family was and still is on the road when it comes to cycling. Mother Sabina Brenner-Dalla Pezza, 47, is the resting pole. She doesn't forget her younger son either: "Mauro is certainly just as talented, but Marco is just a lot more ambitious."
At 15, the Augsburg cycling community became too small for Marco. He changes to RSG Ansbach, later his brother also joins the active cycling community, which offers the Brenners a professional environment, especially during the races. Marco Brenner is known in Ansbach and was twice named Sportsman of the Year. So far, the public has hardly noticed his success in Augsburg.
80 kilometers a day are standard in training
Brenner usually does his training around Augsburg alone. "I often drive towards Altmühltal, via Thierhaupten and Rain am Lech," says Marco Brenner. The standard is 80 kilometers a day, if he trains his endurance, it is between 150 and 160 kilometers. He is on the bike five to six days a week, plus power units on the weight bench in the large hall next to the Brenners' apartment, which also serves as a workshop. But Marco is increasingly on the road when it comes to cycling. "It was almost 150 days this year."
He can still combine this well with his training as a foreign language correspondent (English and French) at the Inlingua language school. He graduated there in June. Then he fully focuses on his passion. “If I am a professional, I will continue to live here, but then I will be traveling around 250 days a year. Because the place of residence is not so important, ”says the 17-year-old with a surprising clarity.
With his signature, he becomes one of the youngest professional cyclists worldwide. And he already defined his goal as clearly as ten years ago. "I want to win the Tour de France or the Giro at some point." He doesn't laugh, he's serious.