Robert Förstemann and his visually impaired partner Thomas Ulbricht won silver in the tandem sprint at the World Cycling Championships in Scotland on Monday (07.08.23).
As in the previous year, the duo had to admit defeat to the Britons Neil Fachie and Matthew Rotherham in Glasgow on Monday in the final of starting class B. Pilot Förstemann and Ulbricht lost the first two runs and were unable to force a decisive third. After bronze in the time trial over the Paralympic 1000 m, it is the second medal for the two tandem partners in Scotland.
“One medal is still missing. At first we’re disappointed. We were close and delivered a nice race,” said Ulbricht. Förstemann added: “We’re hot. We’re happy to see a development. Thomas has actually only been cycling for a year and a half. He’s doing fantastic, he’s a great student. When you see that the gap is widening is getting tighter and the Brits are starting to get really stressed, then of course that pushes us and makes us want more.”
Förstemann, who won the bronze medal in the team sprint at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and has since caused a sensation with his powerful thighs, has been the guide for the former para-athlete Ulbricht for two years.
Silver also for Senska
In the C1 scratch class, seven-time road world champion Pierre Senska secured the silver medal. The 35-year-old from Berlin was only beaten by the Spaniard Ricardo Ten Agiles.
BMX freestyler Kim Lea Müller, on the other hand, again just missed out on a medal in the park competition. The 21-year-old from Oldenburg received 69.00 points for her best run in the final of the Olympic discipline and ended up in tenth place. Last year Müller had finished fourth. The gold medal went to the American Hannah Roberts for the fifth time.
Förstemann: 80 centimeters thigh circumference
Robert Förstemann still has the thickest thighs. The leg circumference was 80 centimeters a few weeks ago in the strength phase, reports the muscle man: “They were larger than before.”
The 37-year-old falls at the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow not only because of his muscle mountains, but also because of the sporting successes with Ulbricht.
“I’ve become more of a team player”
Förstemann, once world champion and Olympic bronze medalist in the team sprint for track cycling pros, switched to para sports a few years ago. As a pilot, he navigates his partner through the wooden oval. “It’s more fun now than it used to be,” says the Thuringian, “I used to drive alone, now you drive with someone. I’ve become more of a team player.”
The change of sides developed him as a person. “Through para-sport, I also look beyond my own nose. You can see that many people have not had it as well in life as we have as competitive athletes. If you can support people and do a little something good with a lot of power in legs, that’s a good thing.”
Förstemann still has power in his legs – and how! Squats with a weight of more than 250 kilograms on the shoulders – no problem for the family man. The training videos of Quadzilla, as he is aptly nicknamed, can be admired on his Instagram profile. “I’ve never had as much strength as I do now. We have to accelerate 200 kilos from a standing start and continue for at least 42 seconds. This is competitive sport at its finest,” says Förstemann.
Ulbricht can only agree. The former track and field athlete is happy to have Förstemann at his side. “Robert is incredibly strong. With his experience we were also able to prevent a fall,” says the visually impaired Ulbricht. Without him he would not have started cycling.
Became famous for the “giant thighs”
Cycling has always been a great passion at Förstemann. He was a member of the German national track cycling team until 2018. In the team sprint he was the starter for a long time, became world champion, European champion and collected national successes. He found real fame at the 2012 London Olympics when his huge thighs even made headlines in the island’s yellow press.
The Olympics are still the goal, now the Paralympics in disabled sports. In Paris 2024, the duo wants to win a medal in the 1000 meter distance. “Next year we want to get under a minute. That has to be the goal for Paris,” says Ulbricht. They have gradually reduced the gap to the British, in Glasgow it was only seven tenths of a second.
But first you have to qualify. “We got a medal at each of the last two World Championships. Now we have another World Championships in Rio in March. If we get another medal there, we’ll definitely be there,” explains Förstemann. He will continue to train hard for the big goal. The thighs are his greatest asset.