Cycle-ball worlds in Ludwigsburg: Holzer/Wolf among the favourites
Ludwigsburg's MHP Arena stages the 2026 indoor cycling world championships from 30 October to 1 November, after Derby dropped out as host at short notice. According to rad-net.de, athletes from 22 nations will compete in artistic cycling and cycle-ball.
Danielle Holzer and Judith Wolf go into the women's event as defending champions. The pair won the world title in 2024 and 2025, beating Switzerland in both finals, and added European gold in June. German national coach Jörg Latzel counts them among the top favourites and expects the Swiss pairing to be their toughest opponents.
Latzel says the Swiss players have the upper hand physically and when shooting, but Holzer and Wolf have so far more than made up for that with creativity, reading of the game and tactical skill. If they keep their own errors rare and concede few goals, he rates their chances of retaining the title as very good.
German pairs have won the men's title several times in recent years: Bernd and Gerhard Mlady, André and Raphael Kopp, and most recently Bernd Mlady with Raphael Kopp. This time Michael Birkner and Robert Mlady represent Germany at a world championship for the first time. Latzel sees Austria and Switzerland as favourites, believes his pair can trouble both on a good day and also expects a fight from France and the Czech Republic. The semi-finals are the target, and a medal would leave the German camp more than satisfied.