Germans confident of Team Sprint prospects

(BEIJING, August 7) -- Germany's Men's Sprint team is familiar with not being the gold medal favorite entering the Olympics.

Four years ago at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Stefan Nimke anchored the German Men's Sprint team to the gold after failing to win a medal at the 2004 World Championships. This year, Nimke finds himself in the same position and this time with two new teammates.

"If you win World (Championships), it is not automatic you will win the Olympics," said Nimke, who is the only remaining rider from his 2004 Gold medal team after Jens Fiedler and Rene Wolff retired.

"Four years ago it was the same. Everything is possible; we could win."

The 30-year-old Nimke is entering his third Olympics as a member of the Sprint team but this year he is the team's self-confessed "old guy".

His teammates, Rene Enders and Robert Forstemann, are 21 and 22 years old respectively. So for the past couple of months, Nimke has been helping his younger team prepare mentally for competing in the Olympics.

"People all over the world are watching you. It's kind of special," Nimke said. "It's a tall order for the guys."

The trio has raced a handful of times together, in contrast to the team Nimke rode with in 2004.

Despite the limited practice racing as a team, Nimke said that going under the 44-second mark is a must for a medal in the event, which is the first final of the Track Cycling competition at the Laoshan Velodrome, held on Friday, August 15.

Standing in the way are France, Great Britain and Netherlands who bested the Germans in Manchester, Great Britain, at the world championships in March.

"We know the time raced in the worlds was very fast," Nimke said. "It's motivation to push us."