Willy Lorenz (cyclist)

Eugen "Willy" Lorenz (born August 15, 1890 in Potsdam , † July 15, 1971 in Erfurt ) was a German cyclist and trainer.

Willy Lorenz belonged to the first generation of German six-day stars; As a native of Potsdam, he was a particular crowd-pleaser at six-day races in Berlin. He learned to ride a bike when he was eleven, and when he was 18 he saw his first bike race. He began his own cycling career as an aviator ; he had the height (1.90 meters) and athletic abilities that were advantageous for this discipline.

In 1910 Lorenz took second place in Rund um Berlin ; In 1911 and 1912 he won the six-day race in Dresden three times , together with Karl Saldow . The two also won the Berlin six-day race in 1914 , until the First World War interrupted Lorenz's cycling career, who was drafted as a soldier. After the war he was three times - in 1922, 1922 and 1926 - German sprint champion. During his career, which lasted from 1910 to 1929, he started in a total of 33 six-day races and won ten, most of them together with Saldow. It was unusual that he was equally successful as a sprinter (short-term discipline) and as a six-day driver (endurance discipline).

After finishing his active cycling career, Lorenz worked in a car dealership; In 1939 he was appointed trainer by the Hungarian Cycling Federation.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Association of German cyclists (ed.): Radsport . No. 32/1970 . Deutscher Sportverlag Kurt Stoof, Cologne 1970, p. 20 .
2. ^ The German cyclist , August 14, 1940

Web links

• Willy Lorenz in the Radsportseiten.net database
• Willy Lorenz: My most beautiful race on cycling4fans.de

literature

• Fredy Budzinski: Willy Lorenz. A biography , Berlin around 1915