A lead of a mere four thousandth of a second was all that separated Erfurt cyclist Kristina Vogel from her British rival Rebecca James in the sprint finale in Rio, but was nevertheless big enough for the girl from Thuringia to win gold. In achieving this success, however, the world champion track cyclist and Olympic winner was able to rely not only on her strategic skills and muscles, but also on a cycle component made by the Australian firm of Kappstein GmbH. In 2011, LEG Thüringen succeeded in convincing the company of the benefits of setting up an operation in Gotha. The component in question – a “sprocket” weighing a mere 19 grams – takes care of optimum transmission of power between the wheel and chain and works virtually wear-free. Kristina Vogel and many other professional cyclists arethrilled by the precision of the Kappstein product. (gro)
