Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna says that he wants to develop his growing reputation and target the general classification in races, after the German won stage five of the Volta a Catalunya.
The 24-year-old attacked seven kilometres from the line to win in Manresa, his third professional career victory coming in just his fifth day of racing this season.
A winner of stages in the Tour de France and Critérium de Dauphiné last season, Kämna has begun to become feared in hilly parcours by his rivals, and has been the peloton’s most active rider in the Catalan race.
Acknowledging that more people are taking notice of his riding style and his form, he told Cycling Weekly: “I just want to be a good rider. But I am super glad with my performance and it’s a goal of mine to improve still.
“I want to try for the GC. First one week races, so let’s see what is coming, but I want to try it.
“I wanted to try it here but I had a day on stage three so I thought I’ll go for stages instead of GC.
“Honestly I like to ride like this. It doesn’t feel like a relief, I didn’t have so much pressure on me.
“It’s nice for the team because it’s our first stage victory [of the season] so for the team it’s a relief but for me it’s just a super nice victory and I really enjoy it right now.
“I have trained hard in the last weeks: I spent a lot of time in Spain, and I had some quite good training partners including Max (Schachmann) and they form you pretty well. Therefore I think my shape is good but I think I can still improve.”
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Having come close to victory from the breakaway on stage one, Kämna had better luck on stage five when he proved the smartest in the large break that formed.
After cresting the final climb of the day, Kämna attacked on the descent, aware that a fast finish wouldn’t play to his advantage – just like what happened on the opening day when he had to settle for fourth.
“I wanted to try because I know in a sprint I normally don’t have it,” he said. “So it was my only option so I went full gas.
“I had the feeling this could be a good moment. I think I wasn’t the strongest today but it was a lot of things coming together and in the end it was the right moment to attack.”
