Team Sunweb’s Lennard Kämna is amidst a temporary break from racing whilst reflecting on his long-term career goals. The decision is made mutually between Lennard and the team as a precaution – to allow the 21-year-old to take some time to review his situation as an athlete and set long-term goals before getting back into racing again.
Team Sunweb’s philosophy is to develop young and talented riders using a gradual approach, step-by-step, with no pressure on short term results. Part of this development process is to continuously evaluate and adjust plans to find the best route on an athlete’s road to success. Lennard’s situation is being closely monitored, with Team Sunweb’s coaches and trainers having created a plan for the upcoming period.
Lennard said: “I turned professional at a young age and my career progressed quite rapidly. My first year with Team Sunweb at WorldTour level went very well and I was able to learn a lot. The first part of the 2018 season wasn’t what we had hoped for, due to some sickness and a few infections. Many things have come together over the recent months and after conversations with the team we decided that a short break was necessary to re-orientate and re-set our long-term goals. The understanding and patience from the team helps me a lot and I am very thankful for that.”
Head of coaching, Rudi Kemna said: “Along the years we’ve gained a lot of experience developing young talents, as athletes and as humans. We realise that at some point in everyone’s life people need to take a step back and re-evaluate their career. Together with Lennard the right decision was made for him to take a break from racing. He continues training and at the moment we’re creating the race plan for the second part of the season, without pressure for a fast return. We always put long term focus at the top of our priorities and with Lennard we recognize that he needs this precautionary moment to reconfigure and avoid future challenges, before continuing the focus on growing as a rider.”