Racing bike heroine Lara Wolleschensky (26), Dresden
Wolleschensky's hemiparesis, a partial paralysis of the left side of her body, was probably caused by a stroke at birth. "It's clearly limited - I say you can see it when I walk," she describes it herself. The doctors tell her parents that she will probably never be able to ride a bike. But little Lara has a strong will and because her big sister can do it, she wants to cycle too. "As a child, you don't really think about your handicap - I grew up with it."
Her sports-loving parents support her and so she manages to master the bike against all odds and even joins a cycling club. At U11 level, she has to fight against her physical limitations and prejudices in the club: "Disabled sport wasn't welcomed everywhere and I rode alongside the able-bodied people." She had to bring an incredible fighting spirit to take part in normal training: "How often I was lying in the mud because I just couldn't do it like others, because I needed support until I learnt how to balance or how to get out of the clipless pedals. When others in my age group rode with a water bottle, I didn't have one for a long time. I wouldn't have been able to reach down in the race." But the sport is good for her and she likes it. She competes in the U15 and U17 licence races in Thuringia and twice in the German Championships. These are mainly criteriums, but she also competes in stage races such as the Ostthüringen-Rundfahrt and also races on the track.
Cycling helps the body
Sport challenges her and keeps her handicap under control - she knows other people with hemiparesis who are much worse off. "If I hadn't done so much sport, I don't know where I would be today. You also grow differently with sport, you become self-confident when performing. You don't realise your handicap until you're a teenager, when children can get angry." When hurtful remarks come her way, she rescues herself in sport and develops "a pretty high level of ambition." This also earned her respect at the cycling club, where everyone recognised what she was capable of. Everything seemed fine, but when the then 17-year-old was on a school year abroad in Norway, she felt physically weak for months. Her hands trembled and she felt a tingling sensation in her legs. Back in Germany, she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) "just in time for her 18th birthday". It takes her a year and a half to really understand what this means "because I had a relapse every six months and the medication didn't work."
Diagnosed with MS - the racing bike heroine fights on
She still has left hemiparesis and the MS is in her right side. From time to time, she only manages to ride 20 kilometres on her racing bike and is on the verge of selling it. Her saviour is Andreas Beseler, who has MS himself and has been promoting sport as therapy with "Besi & Friends" for years. He tells her on the phone: "Do me a favour, do what you used to love doing. Get on your bike and ride. You don't have to prove anything to anyone if you only cycle 20 kilometres tomorrow and it takes you an hour or an hour and a half, nobody cares." With her usual ambition, Lara gets on her bike and fights her way back. The "Besi &Friends" group rides also give her strength because she can finally ride her racing bike without hearing annoying comments: "I often get comments saying I'm sitting crooked on my bike." The fact that she sits crookedly on her bike is due to illness. Her wattmeter shows Lara that she pedals at "65 to 70 per cent" on the right and significantly less power on the left. The group rides have motivated her again: "Suddenly you're not the only one with a disability." And that also gives her the courage to talk openly about her illness - at university, for example.
New momentum through cycling
In 2019, Lara takes part in the Everyman race of the Deutschlandtour and realises "I can still cycle." She re-registers with a cycling club (Radclub Dresden) and the rides reignite her cycling ambition. In 2020, she managed 200 kilometres from Dresden to Jena for the first time and in 2021 she rode her first 300. She became more and more interested in long-distance cycling and when she heard about the Trondheim-Oslo cycling race, she had a new goal. Completing the strength test over 520 kilometres motivates her to "train hard". In 2023, she realises her dream and crosses the finish line in 12th place after 20:13 hours.
A personal success that brings her to the subject of para-sport. After long discussions with the Brandenburg Prevention and Rehabilitation Sports Association (BPRSV e.V.), she wants to try her hand at competitive sport once again. In 2024, she will "cycle properly on the road again." With a lot of ambition, but still aware that she has to test whether or not the change in training is compatible with her MS. "If it doesn't, I can always say stop and go back to what I was doing before." Although she is not yet in a squad this year, she has a coach and wants to compete in a World Cup race in May. Lara works at Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Meißen and uses every minute of her free time for her bike training. She still has many racing bike dreams, from more bikepacking tours with her boyfriend to stage races: "I'm searching for my physical limits." Looking back, she emphasises how important the road bike has been in her life: "It was the door opener that taught me how to deal with my handicap. "
Link tip: Andreas Beseler - the founder of Besi & Friends - has created a Journey raised awareness of MS & cycling through Canada in 2013. This has since grown into a foundation with regular group meetings and events: https://stiftung.besiandfriends.de
Kristian Bauer
Editor
