There is always pressure on riders entering into the final year of the junior or U23 ranks, as they seek to show enough of themselves to earn a move on to the next level. Georg Zimmermann is a German rider on the Tirol-KTM team, and with 2019 being his final year at the U23 level, he has been doing everything in his power to get a contract and turn professional in 2020.
U23 Cycling Zone caught up with the German after the national time trial championships. We asked him about his season and his future plans, which for sure he hopes involve a pro contract. Get to know Georg, who starts the Tour of Austria later today, with our interview.
“I’ve had a great season so far and have had lots of fun with Tirol-KTM. The U23 Giro was my first disappointment, which is a good sign, as if you can do all that time with only one point being disappointing, it is good. All has been very good here in 2019.”
Georg was very active early in the Giro, with second and third places on stages. But the day he was third, on the Strade Bianche, he had a chance to win and take the Maglia Rosa, but he had a mechanical and would finish the day in third, his shot at the lead overall gone. But he has a very pragmatic approach to this incident.
“When you do races like the one at the Giro on gravel, mechanicals are, in my eyes anyway, not bad luck. You have to shift at the right time and always take the correct line. There was a climb and it was my fault that I didn’t shift before the climb. These things happen also in the Classics. You need to be good at avoiding mechanicals and pick the right tyres. This was not bad luck, more bad preparation.”
Georg excels in numerous terrains, and has a fast finish to boot too, making him dangerous from smaller groups, which was how he won Coppa della Pace before the Giro, and a stage at last year’s Giro della Friuli. He described the type of rider he sees himself as, and how some support issues have hindered his TT skills, although they seemed fine as he soloed to the win by over a minute at Trofeo Piva at the start of the year.
“I am a climber with a fast finish. My weakness is the TT. Usually I can’t see myself doing a bad TT, but here there is no support from the team, no bike fit, you are on your own for TTs. My bike is eight years old and it makes things impossible to go really fast. It is really impossible to just pick up the bike with no real training and do a good TT.”
This was highlighted by Georg’s ride at the previous day’s Germany ITT champs. He expected to do a top ten, and came in 33rd, almost 3:30 down, although the U23 Giro was not the best prep for this race. But he was not pleased, as the Tour de l’Avenir has a long TT so he needs to be good there in just a few months. But he used his disappointment well, turning it into a brilliant fifth place in the elite road race, where he was the best non WorldTour rider. After nationals, Georg told us where we could find him next.
“Next it’s Tour of Austria and the Olympic Test Race, before I take a rest and prep for l’Avenir. I’m excited to see the Olympics course. It suits me with the hills but a flat finish, but I do not know who is racing there. The same can be said for Austria, maybe I can do the GC or chase a stage, but that depends on if a lot of WrldTour guys are there or not.”
As for goals, l’Avenir is a big one, but he has some more patriotic goals he also wants to achieve before he ages out at the season’s conclusion.
“At l’Avenir I want to go for the top ten overall, but I need to train and improve my TT. I’ve won three races as an U23, but none of them were for Germany. I really want to win in the jersey of my country. To win a race for Germany is a small dream of mine.”
Georg confirmed to us that he does not yet have a contract for the 2020 season, so he is hoping to do his all in the final months to convince a pro team to sign him. But he says he is not panicking ad changing his training, just keeping going with what has helped him be so good this season already.
“I have not got a contract for next season yet, and it does get stressful trying to keep the dream alive. But I’m focussing on racing and recovery, in order to stay at my best. However, I will also need some luck. I’ve done well so far, and if I had not done well, I’d be going crazy just now. I will keep going in the same way I have done since November. I hope I can g pro, but I won’t change anything.”
Georg’s dream pro win would be the Tour de France, but the 21-year-old says to just race the Tour de France one time would be an honour, given how famous the race is across the world.
“I’d say the Tour, because it is the biggest race in the world, everyone knows it, even non-cycling fans. If you tell someone who doesn’t watch cycling that you have done the Tour, they know you are an elite cyclist. No other race in the world is like this. I’d be proud to participate in the Tur, even just one time.”
Having been one of the best U23s this season, I really hope Georg can secure himself a contract for the 2020 season and beyond. A good climber and all-rounder, who can win solo or from small groups, he has qualities and skills that would be very valuable to any pro team willing to take a chance on him.
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Georg for taking part in our interview, and we wish him all the best for the rest of the season. We also wish to thank Elisa Haumesser at Tirol-KTM for setting up the interview. You can follow Georg on Instagram here and his team here.
U23 Cycling Zone 