European Track Cycling Championships: Shortly before his 40th birthday: Roger Kluge takes bronze

The preparation for Kluge was anything but optimal. Due to a gastrointestinal illness, the veteran only traveled to Turkey at short notice. The long-time road professional was there straight away. With a second place in the scratch and sixth place in the speed race, he was already in a good starting position. After finishing ninth in the elimination race, he secured a medal in the points race.

Back in 2008, Kluge came into the limelight with silver in the points race at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Numerous further successes followed on the track, including three world titles in Madison.

Next medal in Madison?

And in the Madison, the so-called two-man team event, Kluge could crown his 40th birthday with another medal on Thursday. But the German occupation is still unclear. Moritz Augenstein and youngster Tim Torn Teutenberg, who also won gold and silver in Konya, are currently on the provisional start list. With Teutenberg, Kluge won the World Cup title in 2024 and European Championship silver a year later. According to information from Eurosport, Teutenberg is said to be in poor health.

The German team can boast a good haul of seven medals before the last day of competition. In the other decisions on Wednesday, Tokyo Olympic champion Lisa Klein narrowly missed out on the medal runs in fifth place in the 4000 meter individual pursuit, while Clara Schneider took ninth place in the 1000 meter time trial.