The German track squad is not having an easy time at this year's UCI World Track Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Currently the Germans are in fifth position out of thirteen countries in the medal count and the Deutschland coach is bearing the brunt of the blame.
In today's 4000 meter team pursuit match the German team of Robert Bartko, Robert Bengsch, Henning Bommel and Patrick Gretsch finished way off the mark, a disappointing tenth place with a time of 4:07.265, a full ten seconds slower than the winning Australian team.
"This is a serious slap in the face. The race does not however reflect our true capabilities," said German's track coach Andreas Petermann. The team's goal is still a medal at the London Olympics in 2012, however with the team's poor performance in this year's World Championships Petermann may not still be in that position.
"The coach must take responsibility for the outcome. In April we will analyze the World Cup. I assume that he will draw the right conclusions and have a definite plan,” says vice-chairman of the German Cycling Federation, Udo Sprenger, to RP Online.
The German's result was four seconds slower than their planned performance goal for this World Championships and 14 seconds from the world record of 3:53 – an eternity in this discipline. This is the worst result for Germany since the reunification of the country.
In order to secure his coaching position Petermann needs to demonstrate to the German Cycling Federation a strategy to transform the German pursuit team from tenth place finishers into gold medal contenders for the London Games.