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cycling: Interview with Lucas Carstensen & Nikodemus Holler from Team Bike Aid

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Bike Aid Carstensen Holler interview

Cycling: Last week you were in Gabon, now you are racing for good results again in Dubai. Lucas Carstensen and Nikodemus Holler from Team Bike Aid travel a lot. Nevertheless, the two German pros have agreed to an interview with Velomotion. We also have about the Stage win by Lucas Carstensen and Overall #2 by Nikodemus Holler at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and about the upcoming goals in Team Bike Aid.

Despite the excellent performance in Gabon, some readers will not know you yet. How would you describe yourself?

Lucas Carstensen: “Describing yourself is never easy. I would describe myself as cosmopolitan and adventurous. Hence my great interest in cycling races outside of Europe.”

Nicodemus Holler: "I'm a very direct person. To be honest, I don't really care about being everyone's darling. If not everyone likes me, that's not bad - after all, I don't either. I'm also fine with myself, I'm at peace with myself and I also enjoy living in total solitude in an alpine hut for two weeks. On the other hand, I love company. There are people I love more than anything and for whom I would do almost anything. The whole thing is quite contradictory – and that’s exactly how I am, not so easy to put in a drawer.”

How did you come to Team Bike Aid? What makes this team?

Lucas Carstensen: “In 2014 I was already at the start as a stagiaire in a few races for Team Bike Aid. That's why the team isn't completely new to me, even though a few things have changed structurally. In the course of the last season, the contact was established again. The Bike Aid team is primarily made up of two things: On the one hand, the great racing program with high-quality races worldwide. On the other hand, the cultural mix of drivers from Africa and Europe. There is also a good and friendly atmosphere, which I think is extremely important for success.”

Nicodemus Holler: “It was important for me to find the joy of cycling again after missing out on a WorldTour contract with Argos-Shimano in 2013 and a difficult 2014 season to say the least – both sportingly and as a team. To find that joy again, I signed with Bike Aid in 2015. I think a lot of outsiders wrote me off with this signature. It was definitely a step or two backwards. Three years later, however, the world looks very different: I didn't take two steps back, I just made a start. In doing so, I not only brought myself, but the entire Bike Aid team to another level.”

Where are your strengths? How do you want to develop in the future?

Lucas Carstensen: “My strengths are clearly in the sprint, although I can manage over hills to some extent. This ability can certainly still be improved.”

Nicodemus Holler: “I am a very light rider. My weight fluctuates between 55 and 56 kg. Nevertheless, I am not a classic mountain flea. I prefer the medium-length mountains with a length of four to six km, or hilly stages with a difficult finale. I'm a much more balanced rider than my weight would suggest. As long as it's not cold and raining, I can shine on many terrains. But my greatest strength probably lies in my regeneration. During tours, I always clearly notice how I'm getting stronger in relation to the other drivers from day to day."

The season has only just started, but you've already had good results in Gabon. Did you train so hard in winter to be in such good shape right from the start?

Lucas Carstensen: “The winter break was very short for me. I did my last race in Indonesia in November. After that I knew about my first assignment, prepared myself accordingly and was already in good form for the season.”

Nicodemus Holler: "I'm running a little experiment right now: I said goodbye to the classic season. This ended in October. After a week-long break, we're working towards February/March throughout the winter. In 2017 I raced from February to December and had 91 days of competition. So the classic break is no longer necessary and I try to put my feet up for three to four days every now and then during the season. So far it works quite well. Accordingly, the form is relatively constant at a high level and I only had to do a little fine-tuning before Gabon.”

Unfortunately, in Germany we don't really get much of such tours. Do these races differ greatly in organization and procedure from the more well-known races in Europe?

Lucas Carstensen: “The organization was very good in Gabon. The start was always on time. The vehicles are a major difference, because of course the teams don't bring their buses and team cars to Gabon, so the organizers have them. For example, we shared a team bus with the Ethiopian national team. The vehicles are not always the newest. So it happened almost every day on the way to the race that a team bus or car broke down at the side of the track. The course of the races was never really controlled or predictable. But that was mainly due to the fact that no big team had the yellow jersey. Instead, Direct Energie tried to tear the race apart until the last day in order to win the overall classification or at least a stage.”

Nicodemus Holler: “As in Europe, there are also larger and smaller tours in Africa and accordingly the perfectly organized race or a chaotic event. The Tropicale in Gabon is one of the most important tours in Africa. It corresponds to 2.1 status both in terms of organization and the quality of the starting field. A transfer over 400 km is then quickly completed by plane. Even most European tours can only dream of that. However, what differs greatly from racing in Europe is the enthusiasm of the locals. Here you are always welcomed with open hands and cheered on loudly, even when traffic is paralyzed for a while.”

How can you imagine everyday racing in Gabon in Team Bike Aid?

Nicodemus Holler: “Most of the time, the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. Breakfast with the oatmeal and a little pasta that you brought with you, off to the toilet, grab the prepared luggage and off into the mini-van. This year we shared the bus with the Ethiopian national team. Pretty funny guys who we always had a good time with. After about 1,5 hours we were usually at the starting point. So bearable with a little music on your ears. It's hard to get bored in Gabon anyway. There is always something to see. The constant hustle and bustle in the villages, or the dead animals in the jungle that are hung up for sale on the side of the road. From turtles to crocodiles to monkeys, everything is there. Then put on your cycling gear at the starting point, grab food for the race, check the gears again, apply sunscreen, write in, be ready for a few photos and then off to the start.

After the race everything depends on how successful you were. In the best-case scenario, on the podium, then for a doping control, drinking a recovery shake and wolfing down some solid food. The appetite after the race is very limited at such high temperatures. Then to the hotel. If this is new, check in first, otherwise straight to the room. Then I try again to eat a little something, stretch, then do the laundry (of course by hand in Africa), take a shower and then on the massage bench. This is followed by dinner, followed by the team meeting with the schedule for the next day, the analysis of the race and the tactics for the next stage. Then, if you're lucky, it's not too late and you can still surf the internet or listen to a podcast for a while.”

What are the conditions when staying overnight? How is the food? What weather conditions are you struggling with?

Lucas Carstensen: “The hotels were very good to okay. The food was usually good too, although I've personally raced abroad where that wasn't the case. But you can also plan ahead and simply fill your suitcase in Africa with food instead of thick clothes. The weather was of course what you would expect in the tropics: quite hot and humid.”

Nicodemus Holler: “Both the hotels and the food are great. The only thing that is sometimes weak or non-existent is WiFi. But that is bearable. Otherwise the conditions are easy for me to endure. Flowing water and electricity: what more could you ask for? Personally, I don't have to struggle with the weather conditions either. On the contrary: I love the hot temperatures, often well over 30 degrees and the high humidity that is typical of the tropics. Most Germans would probably moan about these weather conditions, but these conditions suit me.”

Lucas, you won a stage right at the start and took the yellow jersey. After that it shouldn't work anymore. What was it?

Lucas Carstensen: “The first two stages and the last were the only ones where there was a really flat bunch sprint. In Gabon, however, that means that there are still various hills on the program. On the last stage, people attacked the whole race and I didn't have good legs at the end. I'm still very satisfied, especially with the way we rode as a team and were ultimately rewarded with victory in the team classification. That was great."

Niko, you snuck into the group on the decisive stage. You have arrived in front of the peloton with a huge lead. You then tried to attack the leader Joseph Areruya several times. Was the man from Rwanda just too strong?

Nicodemus Holler: "Sneaking is the wrong word. In the peloton, when a full pro-continental team is chasing a four-man group, it's a hopeless proposition in most cases. But not in this case. It was a pure act of violence and I'm glad that I didn't know in the morning what was in store for me that day. 180 km in sweltering heat, constantly up and down in a 4 man group. It was a brutal open-faced fight, nearly five hours of pain and suffering. Areruya was definitely very strong. Was he stronger? Hard to say. In cycling, it's not always the strongest who wins. Maybe he was stronger, maybe not. Maybe it was just about time that a black African caused a sensation and got the Europeans off their high horse.”

Bike Aid flies from Germany to Gabon, then to Dubai: How do you cope with this travel strain?

Lucas Carstensen: "Personally, I don't find flying stressful. After a stressful race, where there is always something to do, flying gives you a few hours to relax. At the moment I have to recover from the Tropicale.”

Nicodemus Holler: "Don't think too much about the stress that such travel puts on the body, just look at it positively. A long-haul flight? Nothing better than that. Finally time to watch a movie, read a book or catch up on some sleep. I always try to actively turn the whole thing into a positive thing. That helps immensely. I also try to treat myself to as much luxury as possible when I travel. That's why I'm sometimes referred to as a princess in my team, because I always have by far the most luggage with me. But with more than 200 days a year that I'm on the road, a little luxury is incredibly good - whether it's your own pillow or a neck cushion and noise-cancelling headphones for the flight."

How do you keep yourself busy before and after the races when you're on tour with Team Bike Aid?

Lucas Carstensen: “There is often little time. The rest of the time I stay in touch with friends and family – if the internet is available – or watch a film on my laptop. But often we all sit together after the meal.”

Nicodemus Holler: “Mainly with music. My faithful companion at the races is my beloved Bose box. Nothing beats good music and a solid jukebox. Depending on how the race went, the music is then adjusted. It can happen that half the hotel hears my disappointment after a race that went badly. For me, music is a motivator before the race and a kind of outlet after the race. And the songs are always chosen for the situation at hand. Incidentally, I also do this in training.”

What goals do you and your Team Bike Aid have for the Sharjah Tour and what are your plans after that?

Lucas Carstensen: “We have a balanced team at the start again. Our climbers will have their sights set on the third stage and with it, of course, the overall standings. In the sprints, Meron Abraham and I will try to hold our own against some of the really big sprinters. A podium would certainly be a win against riders like Coquard and Mareczko. The next race is the Tour of Antalya in February. It is not yet clear which drivers will drive there.”

Nicodemus Holler: “The motto is to tie in with Gabon. We can play here without any pressure to succeed and we all want to use our good form. We're extremely strong and probably have the most tactical options of any team. That was already one of our biggest advantages at Tropicale and we hope to be able to use this advantage again and make the right moves. After that I have to study for the university and then I hope to be in the team at the Tour of Antalya.”

Finally: Which professionals are your role models, which are your favorite races and how do you follow the Tour de France yourself?

Lucas Carstensen: “If I had to name a driver as a role model, it would certainly be Peter Sagan. His racing style and enormous versatility are very impressive. We will probably both follow the Tour de France this year at the simultaneous Tour of Qinghai Lake. When I'm not racing myself, I always enjoy watching professional races on TV. I don’t really have a favorite race, but there are still a few that I really want to drive.”

Nicodemus Holler: "I'm really too old for role models. Besides, there are hardly any real characters left. Almost every professional pays close attention to what they say. Just don't offend and always go with the flow. Just like in our society, equality is demanded. A boring mishmash. If you stand out, you have behavioral problems. I prefer to go my own way and make sure that people talk about me than talking about others. Be a role model yourself. Show that it doesn't always have to be the standard way and that you can also open your mouth without having to fear being damned forever.

There are just too many favorite races. I love to race and look forward to almost every competition. I really can't decide on a race. There is usually not enough time to watch the Tour de France. Either because I'm on a tour somewhere in the world right now, or because there are long training sessions coming up. Usually there is not more than the daily summary.”

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About Michael Behringer

Cycling with all its tactics, stage analyses, placements and forecasts are Michael Behringer's great passion. In 1996 he tracked his first Tour de France. Since then he has observed almost every race. His passion for cycling has been with him for over two decades. There is no end in sight.