MAX KANTER
Meet the German sprinter and U23 national champion on Development Team Sunweb
Kanter, that seems like an apt name for a sprinter… Yes, it’s pretty appropriate for the young speedster, who is starting his second season with Development Team Sunweb, the U23 outfit of the WorldTour team. The 20-year-old is from Cottbus, near the German border with Poland, and got into cycling after giving football a go. He started on the track, and was a junior national champion. What’s he been doing on the road? Max has already had two stints as a stagiaire with the WorldTour Sunweb team, in 2016 and 2017, and got a taste of life racing at the top at the Arctic Tour of Norway and Tour of Denmark last year. “It was really special for me,” he tells Procycling. “I think I could learn a lot from the older riders and it’s always nice to ride with really experienced guys. I think I could take some really good steps.” Impressively, when he was only 18, he finished 13th in the sprint at the 2016 Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, won that year by John Degenkolb. Ah John Degenkolb, another German sprinter… Yes, it’s not a coincidence Degenkolb should be mentioned. Like the two-time Monument winner, Max also enjoys rolling routes, can get up short, sharp climbs and has his eyes on the Classics in the future, as well as sprints. “I’m quite a good allrounder. I can survive quite a lot of climbs. If after that there’s a sprint, I have quite a good chance of getting a win – like in some Classics races,” he says. “John Degenkolb and Michael Matthews are the kind of riders I like. Not only because they are good riders but I really trust them, they will ride clean and that is also quite important for me.” What about his recent results? Max’s biggest win so far came at the U23 German national road race, last May, where he won the sprint. He was then seventh at the U23 road race at the Worlds in Bergen. What does the future hold? Max hopes to make an impression at the U23 Classics this spring – Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. “The goal to be a pro in some years is now even bigger,” he says.