Germany’s Pierre-Pascal Keup had a real purple patch with one-day races this year, with the Lotto-Kern Haus man winning Trofeo Degasperi and putting in a host of other top performances.
In addition, he also became a key part of the German national team, being part of the team who won the TTT at l’Avenir, and also getting called up to the Worlds and a pro race, Tour de l’Ain.
I called Pierre not too long after he had returned from Australia, and he shook off his remaining jetlag to chat with me about his career and 2022 season, as well as what is to come in 2023, his last year as a U23.
“At the beginning of the season, it was good to not crash and break a bone, I did that in each of the last two seasons. I had quite low expectations, I just wanted to ride and show myself well, what I feel inside. I wanted to get results, do as well as possible and influence races my way, by attacking. I didn’t expect the season to be so good, it’s the best season I’ve had so far.”
Talking about his strengths and weakneses, Pierre tells me he likes reduced sprint finishes (he was 8th versus the pros in this stage in Tour de l’Ain after all), with short climbs to drop the bigger guys.
“My biggest strength is my sprint from a small group, where the big sprinters have been dropped. My TT isn’t the best though. For me, I like small group sprints and offensive races with climbs of no more than 10 minutes.”
Keup had a great week of racing in Italy, where he was 8th in U23 Strade Bianche, 2nd in Coppa della Pace from a small group, before winning Trofeo Degasperi solo. He told me about his strong week and his first UCI win.
“At Strade, I had a puncture with 2km to go, which wasn’t perfect, but I knew my form was good. At Degasperi, my legs weren’t the best, but I kept calm and survived the big climbs. I knew I would be dropped the next times up the climb, so I attacked on the flat so I could do my own pace on the climb. I waited for others to catch me, but they never came!”
As I mentioned earlier, Keup was a key part of the German team, picked for so many big races. He talked to me about his races with the national team, and hopes he repaid the coach’s faith in him with his performances.
“Before the second half of the season, I had Covid and needed some weeks to get back in my old race shape again. That was hard, but I felt really good in Tour de l’Ain, racing in the big mountains with the pros. L’Avenir, the first days weren’t so good, I wanted a stage top ten, but it didn’t work out. But in the second half of the race, I could help in the mountains and it was fun to ride on the front for a strong team. I got a lot of trust from the national coach and showed that I could be good on all terrains and it was a good choice for him to select me for races.”
Speaking a little about Bora-hansgrohe’s partnership with Lotto Kern-Haus, Pierre says whilst there is a connection, it’s perhaps not as strong between the two teams as a WorldTour devo team would have. But he hopes to impress a pro team for 2024 regardless.
“I think we will get to do more races in the spring, perhaps events like Tours of Normandie or Bretagne. A trainer works with our team, but it’s not a strong connection like on a development team. But I hope to get a pro contract somewhere!”
When asked about his developmental goals for next season, Pierre wants to keep attacking and racing well, knowing full well that approach may not always work, but there are times it will pay off for him in a big way.
“I’m trying to prep better for special races in the spring, when I have good legs. I need races to perform and get results. I’d like to be more offensive in races, and in some races it will work, in others it won’t, we will see.”
When asked about his dream pro wins, Keup went to races back in his native Germany, clearly showing he would love to win in front of a home crowd.
“When you sent me the questions, I thought about this one for a long time. The German champs would be really nice to win. Also Eschborn-Frankfurt, that was always a race for the big sprinters, but in the next years maybe it could be possible for a small group to make it. That would be nice!”
Following Pierre’s growth, it’s very reasonable to expect him to lift his level once again in 2023, and get even more good results. Given Bora-hansgrohe, for one, will be watching Lotto-Kern Haus closely in 2023, it wouldn’t be a massive shock to see Pierre attract a pro contract from a team if his trajectory continues next season. Keep track of him to see what happens!
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Pierre-Pascal for taking the time to answer my call, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season and beyond. You can find him on Instagram here.
U23 Cycling Zone 
In der Saison 2023 geht es jetzt im Mai langsam bergauf (Corona auf Rhodos im April, dann erkältet bei der Tour de Bretagne) . 14.5 Sieg bei dem BL-Rennen “Erzgebirgstour” und am 21.5 Platz 7 bei Rund um Köln-bester deutscher Starter.
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