Two young athletes from Herbrechtingen (Heidenheim district) perform with their prosthetic bikes around the Canadian national holiday in Halifax. How it happened and what they present:
The German cycling team with two young athletes, Marvin and Torben Staudenmayer from Harbrechtingen, represent German artistic cycling at the world’s largest indoor military parade in Halifax, Canada. Several thousand visitors are expected. In advance, Marvin Staudenmeier and national coach Katherine Igel were at SWR Studio Ulm for an interview.
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SWR: On June 16th, Mr. Staudenmeyer, you have left for Halifax in eastern Canada. Are you excited yet?
Marvin Staudenmeyer: Yes, very much, especially in front of an audience.
How many spectators are there usually in competitions and then how many?
Marvin Staudenmeyer: So in normal competitions there are 400 to 500 spectators. And then about 6,000 spectators fit into the ice rink.
Ms. Igel, how is it that seven artistic cyclists from Germany perform in a military parade on Canada’s National Day? How did the contact happen?
Katherine Igel: It’s really exciting. We went there for the first time in 2011. A video of artistic cyclists had previously gone viral on YouTube. That’s how the organizers first discovered it and how the roundabout contact happened. I then traveled to the event with a team for the first time in 2011.
You’ve been there twice. Can you describe the atmosphere?
Katherine Igel: The atmosphere is very unusual for us as artistic cyclists, for example because of the crowd and applause accompanied by military music. Crazy atmosphere. The applause just gets under your skin.
They looked at your demonstrations on the internet and said it would fit in well with us. Or how do you imagine it?
Katherine Igel: Yes, to a large extent the same. They associate this military parade with some artistic, artistic acts. And this year we have come up with something special.
What really, Mr. Staudenmeyer?
Marvin Staudenmeyer: that we drive in the traditional lederhosen and drindle. These are different tricks. The bike is built like a BMX and you drive it in a riser so that the front wheel is up or just on the handlebar.
Ms. Igel, you probably made your own show there?
Katherine Igel: Correct. A show this year represents a bike ride through “The Land.” We have an image film playing in the background about Baden-Württemberg: you can see the vineyards on Lake Constance, we’ll have a picnic and that in combination with artificial bikes and traditional costumes on the move. It really is extraordinary. Canadians believe that we all have such a dress in Germany.
