BMarkus Dörr jerked the handlebars of the bike he was sitting on to the right with lightning speed. The opponent is taken by surprise, Dörr maneuvers the ball with the front wheel to the other side of the field to teammate Luca Kovacevic. He stands upright on the pedals of his bike, his eyes focused on the ball. Half a pedal turn, then Kovacevic suddenly pulls the handlebars up. A bang resounds in the hall, the ball swishes into the right corner of the goal.
Markus Dörr and Luca Kovacevic, both 21, play cycling at VC Darmstadt (VCD). They are among the best players in Europe in their age group. In autumn they won the U-23 European Championship title in Aalen. They want to compete in the 1st Bundesliga before the end of this year. To do this, they sometimes train four times a week; sometimes into the night. Why all this effort for a fringe sport that rarely gets public attention?
A new bike every two years
Before training started on a Tuesday evening in March, Markus Dörr said he had little choice but to play cycleball. Father Peter has been active in the sport for 50 years. Markus started playing himself at the age of four. “Anyone can kick a ball,” he draws the comparison to football. Cycleball is much more difficult. It takes about a year for beginners to master the special wheel and the basics of the game, explains Peter Dörr.
The rigid 1:1 ratio of the wheels takes some getting used to. If you pedal backwards, the wheel rolls backwards. A special feature is the long horizontal seat post. The saddle is centered over the rear wheel; in order to keep the front wheel on the ground, the athletes have to shift their center of gravity forward. The U-shaped handlebars are also characteristic. A bike like the one used by Dörr and Kovacevic costs around 3,500 euros. A new vehicle is needed about every two years. The spokes in particular wear out quickly.
In cycling, teams of two compete against each other on a 14 by 11 meter playing field. The gates are two meters high and wide; a game lasts twice seven minutes. During the game, the feet must not touch the ground. The ball is filled with horsehair, covered with fabric and about the size of a handball. The German cycle ball sport is organized in the Federation of German Cyclists (BDR). The world cycling association UCI holds a world championship every year.
Before Luca Kovacevic attended a cycling training session at VC Darmstadt for the first time in 2009, he played ice hockey and rode BMX. Peter Dörr was immediately impressed by Kovacevic’s sense of balance. It quickly became clear to him: Son Markus and Kovacevic should form a team in the future. Six months of intensive training followed for the newcomer. This laid the foundation for the successful duo Dörr/Kovacevic.
“Tore your ass off in training”
“When Luca pulls away, the ball can go 80 to 90 kilometers per hour,” reports Markus Dörr. The two have long since become best friends off the pitch. They benefit from it in competition. “Communication with the partner makes up 30 to 40 percent of the overall strength of a team in cycleball,” estimates Kovacevic. Both emphasize the family atmosphere in the cycling scene.
A banner hangs on the wall in the VCD training hall showing Dörr and Kovacevic arm in arm and each with a gold medal around his neck. Winning the U-23 European Championship title was the biggest success of their career, they say. “We worked our asses off in training for that,” says Dörr. But winning the title is said to have been only a first milestone.
The duo competes for VC Darmstadt in the 2nd Bundesliga. In the middle season, it takes second place after four out of six matchdays. This entitles you to participate in the semifinals against opponents from the South and North seasons; the winners then play out the three promoted players in the Bundesliga in a round of six. “We definitely want to go up,” emphasize Dörr and Kovacevic. Her long-term vision is to become a world leader.
