The second edition of GFNY Bremen brought 2,000 cyclists from 40 countries to northern Germany on Sunday 30 August for 100 kilometers of racing through Bremen and the surrounding Lower Saxony countryside. Serving as the GFNY European Championship, the race attracted an international field ranging from elite amateurs to age-group contenders competing in the global GFNY series.
The event started at Bremen’s historic Tabakquartier, with racing getting underway near Bremen Airport. Riders tackled a main countryside loop twice before returning to the city. The largely flat course still made for demanding racing: open roads left the field exposed to gusty winds, frequent direction changes rewarded good positioning, and a 500-meter cobbled sector added a classics-style edge.
Belgium’s Seppe Joos, riding for Belgian club Peak CC, won the men’s race in 02:20:41. A group of five split away on the cobbles after 20 kilometers, building a two-and-a-half-minute advantage over the peloton before Joos outsprinted Dutchman Teun van der Heide and German Janik Lier, who were both credited with the same finishing time. Joos’ teammate Gill Bogaerts backed him up with fourth place overall.
In the women’s race, German rider Carmen Burmeister defended the title she won at the inaugural 2025 edition, crossing the line in 02:22:22, 1 minute 23 seconds ahead of the Netherlands’ Linda Kuiper — a far tighter margin than her six-minute victory a year earlier. Fellow German Lisa-Julie Wehling completed the podium, 1 minute 37 seconds behind. Burmeister, a longtime fixture on the German amateur racing circuit with results at events including Rad am Ring and the German Cycling Cup, has now made GFNY Bremen her own.
Both champions earned funded trips to next May’s GFNY World Championship in New York City, according to race director Uli Fluhme.
Photo Credit: GFNY Deutchland
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