BMX rider Lara Lessmann is one of the world leaders in the freestyle discipline. She dreams of an international title.
Mellowpark, Berlin Koepenick, August 5th. It’s raining. Small puddles form in the ramp landscape “Rudis Resterampe”. The Berlin BMX freestyler Lara Lessmann is reflected in them. Her light blonde hair sticks out from under her helmet, she wears black jeans and a black rain jacket. In summer. She stands there almost a little stubbornly, swiping her foot along the ramp again and again and shaking her head. “I can’t drive that fast at first.” The rain has to stop first. And then, together with other drivers, she had to remove the lanes and distribute the rainwater so that the ramps dried faster.
Worst training conditions in the starting field
Lara Lessmann is a member of the federal BMX squad, took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, before that she won silver twice in a row at the European Championships and gold at the Youth Olympic Games once. It is completely normal for her that she has to take care of the condition of her training ground.
That has more to do with respect, says the 22-year-old. Still, it annoys her that Mellowpark still doesn’t have a hall or a roof over the ramps. “Germany has the worst training conditions in the starting field for the European Championship,” complains Lessmann.
Motto: “Do it with passion”
But that doesn’t stop the Berlin BMX rider from spending every free minute in the Köpenicker ramp landscape, in her second home. “Do it with passion” is her motto. She has the Olympic rings tattooed on her forearm and “On Courage” is written on her left middle finger. She has always had that in her sporting career. It also needs it when she throws herself down ten-meter-high ramps on a small bicycle or practices rollovers for weeks and ends up in a foam pool on her back.
As a teenager, Lara moved from Flensburg to Berlin for her BMX freestyle career because she thinks the Mellowpark in Berlin is the best place for BMX. There she perfected her driving technique and found her style, which is so important in her sport. When she’s not working on her trick repertoire in the Mellowpark, Lara Lessmann shows her skills in the World Cup and regularly ends up on the winner’s podium, just like at other events. From Köpenick out into the wide world, the Berliner keeps going.
Injured at the Olympic premiere
So far, the current season has gone well for the sixth-placed athlete from Tokyo. Lessmann has so far achieved two second places and one fifth place in international competitions. “I trained a lot in winter, especially my shoulder,” she says, beaming. Last year she fell badly at the World Championships in Montpellier and broke her collarbone – a few weeks before the Olympic Games.
But Berlin’s hope for a medal did not want to miss the premiere of their sport in Tokyo. Despite a sore shoulder and a screwed metal plate, the 22-year-old still drove through the Olympic ramp park, in the spirit of “Being there is everything!”. Lara Lessmann, who drove cautiously, was unable to achieve more than sixth place.
Now her goal is the European Championship. It is an honor for her to take part in the competition with the other eight sports at the European Championships in Munich in front of her home crowd and above all with her friends and acquaintances. “I have set myself quite a lot, prepared myself well both mentally and in terms of strength training, so a podium finish would be very nice.” When asked where she would like to be on the podium, Lessmann answers with a smile. “I finished second there twice, so I have a bit of catching up to do.” She wants to show everyone in Germany what BMX Freestyle is all about and there is no better place than to win the European Championship title at home.
Title dream at the EM
The competition is strong in Munich, the medal winners from Tokyo will start at the European Championships. In contrast to the Olympic Games, however, Lara Lessmann can draw on her full potential at the European Championships and call up her full potential.
She feels mentally and physically very fit and announced that she wanted to surprise everyone. “I’m going to show a trick that I’ve never tried in competition,” she reveals, looking at the ramps in Mellowpark. The sun is shining now and Lara wants to drive a little longer. But first she has to go out again and get a wiper to remove the rainwater. She just does it with passion.
