GDR road cycling championships 1955
The 1955 road cycling championships saw the decision in the individual road race Horst Tüller from SC Einheit Berlin and in the team time trial also the SC Einheit Berlin as the new champions of the GDR .
Single race
To determine the champion in the individual road race, two runs were held. In both runs, points from 20 downwards were awarded after the run-in, from the addition of which the championship result was determined.
1st run: "Around the Ore Mountains" (July 3, 1955)
As in the previous year, the first championship run led over the mountains of the Ore Mountains . The 700 meter high Johanngeorgenstadt was the summit of the 175 kilometer long circuit with start in Karl-Marx-Stadt and finish in Aue . 70 drivers started the race in scorching heat with up to 30 degrees in the shade. After just 40 kilometers, an important preliminary decision was made when seven drivers took a flat tire from defending champion Gustav-Adolf Schur as an opportunity to break away from the field. In Johanngeorgenstadt at race kilometer 85 the leading group had already shrunk to three active participants, and when Wolfgang Grupe also fell back exhausted three kilometers from the finish line , the decision could only be made between Emil Reinecke from Leipzig and Horst Tüller from Berlin . Reinecke accelerated in the Auer Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion and won the first championship run with a lead of five bike lengths over Tüller. Grupe was able to save himself to third place in front of the main field, which Schur led over the finish line in fourth, more than two minutes behind.
| driver | team | Time (h) | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Emil Reinecke | SC DHfK Leipzig | 5:19:05 | 20th |
| 2. | Horst Tüller | SC unit Berlin | 5:19:25 | 19th |
| 3. | Wolfgang Grupe | SC DHfK Leipzig | 5:19:50 | 18th |
| 4th | Gustav-Adolf Schur | BSG development Börde Magdeburg | 5:21:43 | 17th |
| 5. | Günter Grünwald | SC DHfK Leipzig | 5:21:43 | 16 |
| ... | ||||
2nd run: 100 km time trial in the Schorfheide (July 10, 1955)
The second championship run was held as an individual time trial over 100 kilometers. The route ran north of Berlin, from Buchholz 50 kilometers into the Schorfheide and back again. The race was affected by numerous organizational mishaps. On the one hand, several sports communities missed the reporting date, so that the field of participants was decimated, on the other hand, the drivers were handicapped by closed railway barriers and dense car traffic. The time trial was dominated by the question of whether defending champion Schur would manage to overtake the three drivers ahead of him in the championship standings. Ultimately, the decision came down to a duel between Schur and Horst Tüller, the runner-up in the first championship run. Tüller had set the best time by the turning point at kilometer 50, Schur was 50 seconds behind. At kilometer 75, Schur had turned the tables and was now in the front for his part, but Tüller still had the better points account as second. The order did not change until the 100th kilometer. Schur won the second championship run, but Tüller won one point more than the defending champion with his second place in the overall standings. The drivers, who were also ahead of Schur before the race, could no longer intervene in the decision. Reinecke suffered a gearshift failure shortly before the finish line and Grupe was struggling with seat problems.
| driver | team | Time (h) | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gustav-Adolf Schur | BSG development Börde Magdeburg | 2: 40: 14.5 | 20th |
| 2. | Horst Tüller | SC unit Berlin | 2: 42: 15.2 | 19th |
| 3. | Benno Funda | SC unit Berlin | 2: 42: 42.3 | 18th |
| 4th | Siegbert Glaser | BSG Rotation Berlin | 2: 45: 16.2 | 17th |
| 5. | Horst Zeidler | BSG Turbine Gaswerke Berlin | 2: 46: 17.0 | 16 |
| ... | ||||
Final score
| driver | team | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Horst Tüller | SC unit Berlin | 38 |
| 2. | Gustav-Adolf Schur | BSG development Börde Magdeburg | 37 |
| 3. | Siegbert Glaser | BSG Rotation Berlin | 31 |
| 4th | Günter Grünwald | SC DHfK Leipzig | 26th |
| 5. | Erwin Wittig | SC unit Berlin | 23 |
| ... | |||
Team Time Trial (September 18, 1955)
A flat but winding route had been set for the team championship, which led from Cottbus via Spremberg and Hoyerswerda to the small town of Weißkollm in Upper Lusatia and back again. In ideal racing weather, 20 teams with six drivers each took part, of which 18 teams were ranked in the end. The SC Einheit Berlin with Benno Funda , Werner Malitz , Rudi Kirchhoff , Horst Tüller , Erwin Wittig and Fritz Jahresling defended its title from last year, at that time still driving as BSG Berliner Bär. The Berliners, who had to give up after 70 kilometers and Wittig fell back shortly before the finish, had set the best time in all intermediate times and in the end had a lead of over a minute over the drivers of SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt , where Lothar Master I had to give up after a circuit damage. The SC DHfK Leipzig needed another minute and ended up in third place. He had to do without his best Gustav-Adolf Schur . The team of SC Dynamo Berlin delivered a remarkable catch-up, after half the distance in sixth place, but in the end still reached fourth place.
| team | Time (h) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | SC unit Berlin | 2: 17: 56.4 |
| 2. | SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | 2: 19: 01.8 |
| 3. | SC DHfK Leipzig | 2: 20: 01.6 |
| 4th | SC Dynamo Berlin | 2: 21: 40.8 |
| 5. | SC Rotation Leipzig | 2: 21: 43.4 |
| ... | ||
literature
- Cycling week, issues No. 28, 29 and 39 from 1955