Leah Kirchmann blog: A little inconvenience is worth a clean sport

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January is an exciting time of year in the world of cycling. Contracts typically start on January 1st, so riders are finally able to unveil their new team kit and equipment. You may have noticed quite a few “New year, new me, new team!” type of social media posts. The race season is also starting to literally heat up as racing in Australia got underway. Lots of speculation is starting up related to new team dynamics and which riders to watch this season. Things are also starting to ramp up for Team Sunweb and myself, as we start a new and what should be an exciting season.

Last month the entire team travelled to Berlin, Germany for the official team launch. I arrived early with the rest of the North American contingent and toured the city. This included a stop at the Berlin Wall Memorial where we were educated about the history of this previously divided city. It is crazy to think it was not that long ago that a wall even existed.

There has been so much positive change in cycling in recent years that we need to continue this trend in a positive direction with efforts from all the stakeholders involved. Personally, even though the additional testing will take more of my time, I am willing to be slightly inconvenienced if this will help create credible heroes in the sport and change the culture for the best in the long run.