Even though the Bundesliga came to its conclusion less than a fortnight ago, attention has already turn to the 2024 season. More specifically, the vital aspect of recruitment is about to take its place on centre stage.
The unexpected news that Buschhütten have disbanded has also added a new dimension to the recruitment window. Several WTCS athletes, both German and international, will now be hunting for a new team.
Any teams looking to add international athletes to their rosters will have to do so before the end of the year. The next few weeks and months, then, will see plenty of shopping around.
Many teams provide important developmental platforms for young German athletes to gain exposure against world class operators. For those looking to rise up the standings, though, developing a generation of talent can take more time than is available. Moreover, not all teams are built equally when it comes to development.
For example, as one of the DTU’s (German Triathlon Union) core training centres, Potsdam often have a steady flow of talent to call upon.
Buschhütten were a major success story and a lot of that stemmed from their commercial might. That itself was the product of the tireless work of Rainer Jung, among others, who will be stepping aside.
Looking ahead to 2024, several teams have expressed a wish to bring on new faces where possible. At the other end of the spectrum, there are athletes that have displayed an interest in joining a team. Indeed, with regards to the athletes, there are plenty of reasons to sign up.
For younger athletes, especially Juniors or those recently out of the Junior ranks, the developmental value of the series is incalculable. It provides the rare chance to race against WTCS calibre athletes and to test oneself against an elite field. Similarly, it is often a valuable stepping stone for U23 athletes.
The events also provide an ideal opportunity to test race sharpness for those that are a little more experienced.
After racing at Bundesliga Düsseldorf this year, Tereza Zimovjanova (Czech Republic) suggested that “you get top-10 in World Cups earlier than in Bundesliga”.
The team format offers a point of difference to the standard individual nature of elite racing. Moreover, the Bundesliga has been at the forefront of innovation in race formats. This season alone saw the 2+2 event in Kraichgau as well as Hannover’s prologue event.
Perhaps most importantly, it is commonplace for teams to compensate athletes for their attendance, with prize money coming on top. Athletes that appear at least three times will also be eligible for the end of season bonus pool. With only five stops on the calendar, there are only so many races to potentially sign for.
For those looking to make a career from the sport, it can be a very helpful source of income.
On the team front, there are plenty of incentives for managers to make new additions to their squads. As the old adage goes, to stand still is actually to go backwards.
With the end of the 2023 season, the teams have already been able to make early assessments of their ranks to see what pieces they need to add to rise.
Depth is one of the most important aspects of the competition. Witten, in the women’s series, and Trier, in the men’s, are examples of teams that excelled at times in 2023 but also struggled without their biggest names. Adding new names can thus rectify that.
When it comes to recruitment, there are a variety of strategies each team can take.
To borrow from the French Grand Prix, there is the Liévin approach. With Hayden Wilde in Bordeaux, Matthew Hauser in Metz and Jelle Geens in Quiberon, Liévin had an international star appear for a race and secure the win. In the Liévin model, the star athlete was often only required once before they returned to their WTCS commitments.
Obviously there are only so many WTCS race winners out there and such athletes will probably command a greater appearance fee.
Then there is what could be called the Bonn strategy. At the start of the 2023 campaign, Bonn unveiled Lasse Lührs as their shining new recruit. Although injury slowed his start to the season, by the end of the year Lührs helped Bonn to a 3rd place finish in Hannover.
In Lührs’ case, the fact he already trained in Bonn made his move natural. Still, there is plenty of scope for an athlete to become the focal point of a team in a similar way.
Then there is the Junior strategy. One of the best exponents of that this year has been Darmstadt. They have a lot of success this year in bringing Euan De Nigro through. The Italian Junior has become a top-10 contributor and logged a series of valuable finishes for the team. In turn, he was able to utilise his Bundesliga experience at the World Junior Championships.
Even for teams that are more inwardly focused on the development of domestic talent, there is a degree to which exposure to international talent on the same team can be a fantastic learning opportunity. No one wants to crowd out German talent from getting chances in the series, but rubbing shoulders with a range of athletes and seeing how they approach the race weekend could reap plenty of rewards down the line.
For teams and non-German athletes alike, then, the clock is ticking to secure their spots for 2024.
—
For those that would like to see more of the Bundesliga transfer window, we’d be grateful if you would consider buying us a coffee.
