To anyone who followed cycling in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Teutenberg name will be a familiar one. Over more than two decades, the Teutenberg siblings were part of both the men's and women's pelotons.
The youngest member of the clan, Ina-Yoko dominated the sprinting scene on the women's side of the sport, taking more than 100 victories on the road before her retirement in 2013. Her older brothers Lars and Sven also both enjoyed successful careers throughout the 90s, although perhaps not quite as glittering as their sister's.
Five years on since Ina-Yoko hung up her racing wheels, there is a new Teutenberg in town, Lea Lin. Lin, as she is known, is the daughter of the eldest of the Teutenberg siblings, Lars. She comes with plenty of promise, not just because of her last name, and she's determined to make her own way in cycling after signing her first professional contract with WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling for the 2018 season.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm just excited. I think that I'm well prepared with winter training now and I'm really looking forward. I'm a little bit nervous but it's really exciting," she tells Cyclingnews. "It's a lot of pressure because everyone is expecting us to be good, because my younger brother also rides."
Still just 18, Lin's rise through the ranks has been pretty swift after only taking up riding competitively at the age of 15. Despite being part of a family whose roots are deeply embedded into cycling, her path to cycling has been quite organic. As a child, she was involved in almost any sport or activity that it was possible to do, horse riding, cheer leading, football, athletics and tennis. You name it, she's probably done it. As she grew older, it was hard to avoid the lure of cycling, though.
"It was a bit surprising because she's always ridden but she never took it that seriously. It will be really interesting to see how far she can make it," Ina-Yoko tells Cyclingnews, adding that the move to professional racing is a bigger challenge than it was when she first started out.
It's in the genes
Taking it steady
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/lea-lin-teutenberg-carrying-on-an-iconic-family-name-in-pro-cycling
No comments:
Post a Comment