"Hats off to everybody. We had a common target and we've done it," said head coach Heiko Herrlich Following the arrival in the underground car park at the BayArena. The first leg that took the Black and Reds 90 kilometres along the Moselle to Koblenz on Sunday, was followed on Monday by a stage along the Rhine to Bonn (85 kilometres) and the final stretch on Tuesday morning from the former capital of West Germany to the BayArena covering 54 kilometres. "Perhaps it wasn't too strenuous for those members of the squad who are used to riding mountain bikes but many others had to push themselves to their limits – It was a completely new experience to be on a bike for so long," said Herrlich.
In addition to working on basic stamina the bike ride also helped improve the group dynamic in the team: "With such an unfamiliar workload you not only have to keep pushing yourself inwardly but also as a group as its very difficult on your own," explained the 46 year-old football coach.
And the skipper Lars Bender also enthusiastic about the 'Tour de Werkself' as a way to start the pre-season: "Activities like that are obviously great for integrating new players: if you spend a couple of hours together on bikes and travel in a six or seven man group in single file You need a lot of confidence. At the end of the day, you have to be able to rely on the man in front - that he travels a decent pace, gives you the right signals and that helps build confidence." The 'mountain trial'on Monday which involve the Team Werkself conquering one of the local vineyards Suited the 29-year-old defensive all-rounder down to the ground: "when you have to climb a mountain like that and rather teammates are pushing you from the top then that helps to promote sense of community. It was definitely very good."
The Herrlich charges have two days off on Wednesday and Thursday and that gives them a chance to recover from their "pains in their backsides and thighs" as Lars Bender reported. The next stage of the pre-season follows on Friday (16.00 CET), Saturday (10.30 CET and 16.00 CET) and Sunday (10.30 CET) on the training ground. Jonathan Tah, Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic are set to join the rest of the squad following their international commitments that led them to have an additional week's holiday.
The successor to Sergi Runge as head coach of the Bayer 04 U19 team has been decided. Following the Spaniard's appointment to Kasper Hjulmand's first team coaching staff, the current U17 head coach Kevin Brok (photo) will be responsible for the U19s until the end of the season. As a result, Benjamin Adam will also move up a year and will now coach the U17s instead of the U16s, also until the end of the season. The structure of the coaching and support staff will remain unchanged.
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The Werkself are away to Mainz 05 on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game at the MEWA ARENA is on Saturday, 18 October, with the kick-off at 15.30 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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After opening the Google Pixel Bundesliga season in front of a German record crowd, Bayer 04 Women now play their first home game of 2025/26 as they host promoted Union Berlin at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday (kick-off: 6pm CEST) looking to turn their good performance in Munich into points this time.
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A floodlit thriller and a home win for head coach Kasper Hjulmand in his first game in charge. Bayer 04 beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 at the start of Bundesliga matchday 3. Alejandro Grimaldo scored with a spectacular free-kick and Patrik Schick with a penalty before the break, and after Frankfurt pulled a goal back, Grimaldo crowned a strong Werkself performance in stoppage time - again with a strike from a free-kick.
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