Successful duo: Robert Förstemann (left) and Thomas Ulbricht
Foto: imago/Beautiful Sports/Oliver Kremer
The dream of winning a Paralympic medal lives on with Robert Förstemann – after the sprint race on Monday at the Paracycling World Championships 2023 in Glasgow more than ever: Together with his partner Thomas Ulbricht, the Berliner won silver in the tandem sprint of the para athletes – medal number two after bronze in the Paralympic 1000 meter time trial with the tandem (start class B). As a professional, Förstemann had already won a bronze medal in the team sprint at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Paralympic medal next year could be the culmination of a long career on the cycling ovals of this world for the 37-year-old – including a remarkable change in recent years. In 2006, Förstemann, who lives with his wife and two sons in Neuenhagen near Berlin, competed in his first World Championships and then celebrated great success in the team sprint. In addition to third place at the Olympics in London, the 2010 World Championship title stands out.
The serious accident of double Olympic champion Kristina Vogel in summer 2018 in Cottbus, who has been paralyzed in a wheelchair ever since, led him to rethink. “I realized then that it might be really cool to experience cycling from a different perspective,” says Förstemann, preparing to switch to tandem piloting. Stefan Nimke from Schwerin and top international drivers such as Francois Pervis from France or Teun Mulder from the Netherlands had previously taken similar paths.
An adequate partner was quickly found in Kai Kruse from Rangsdorf, who had already won silver in rowing and bronze in cycling at the Paralympic Games. At the 2020 World Cup, Förstemann/Kruse won bronze in the 1000 meter time trial. At the Paralympics in Tokyo, he was 0.082 seconds short of jumping onto the podium. After this disappointment, Kruse ended his competitive sports career and has been working as a physiotherapist ever since. For federal police officer Förstemann, retiring was not an option: “I still enjoy cycling and I’m absolutely competitive,” he explained at the time.
In the weight room at the Olympic base in Berlin, paths crossed with Thomas Ulbricht. Born in Salzwedel, who, like Kruse, is visually impaired and only has a visual acuity of three percent, he had previously had a successful para-competitive sports career as an athlete. In 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 the 38-year-old was at the Paralympics and won silver (pentathlon) and bronze (100 meters). Persistent Achilles tendon problems prevented the start in Tokyo and prompted Ulbricht, who works part-time at the Federal Institute for Digital Radio, to switch to the tandem.
After bronze at the 2022 World Championships in the 1000 meters, Förstemann/Ulbricht was now third again. The world champions were the Brits Neil Fachie and Matthew Rotherham (1:00.287 min), who also won the team sprint on Monday. “In the end, we wanted to go home with a medal, we achieved our goal,” said Förstemann after the duo, after a mistake in the translation on the tandem in the qualification, only with difficulty finished sixth in the Sir-Chris -Hoy Arena. Above all, the time in the final battle of 1:01.180 minutes was positive for both of them. “When we started we were two seconds behind the Brits. Now it’s only seven tenths,” says Förstemann. “We’re working hard and a lot on ourselves – next year we want to drive under a minute. That’s the goal for Paris 2024. We’re still working on it for 13 months,” says Ulbricht.
Förstemann is also still highly motivated and works on his “monster thighs” as much as he used to in the weight room. In the run-up to the World Cup, these had a circumference of almost 80 centimeters, more than ever before: “I’ve never had as much power as I do now. We have to accelerate 200 kg from a standing start and then continue for 42 seconds. That’s not without it,” says Förstemann with a mischievous smile.
Förstemann likes to show off his thighs on Instagram. He has almost 400,000 followers there. Förstemann is now much more involved in his role as a tandem pilot, mentor and figurehead of German para-cycling than on the internet. “I have to say that sport is now almost more fun than it used to be. I used to ride more or less alone. Now I’ve become a team player,” he says. “Working with Thomas, developing the materials on the tandem, focusing more on the entire para-cycling sport – that’s just fun. And when you can stand on the podium at the end of the day, that’s a great feeling,” says Förstemann.
The once dogged sprinter has loosened up without losing his ambition. “My horizon has expanded enormously through parasport,” says Robert Förstemann, who still has a clear goal in mind. »Ultimately, this World Cup was a stopover – our goal is a medal at the Paralympics in 2024. We subordinate everything to that.«
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