Markus Fothen

Markus Fothen
	Markus Fothen at the 2007 Tour de France
To person
Date of birth	September 9, 1981
nation	Germany
discipline	Street
Team (s)
2004–2008 ; 2009–2010 ; 2011–2013	Gerolsteiner ; Team Milram ; Team NSP
Most important successes
	one stage Tour de Romandie 2007; one stage Tour de Suisse 2008 U23 time trial world champion 2003;
	Last updated: July 25, 2013

Markus Fothen (born September 9, 1981 in Neuss ) is a former German racing cyclist .

Career

After becoming U23 European and World Time Trial Champion in 2003 and twelfth overall ranking at the Giro d'Italia in 2005, he took part in the Tour de France for the first time in 2006 . On the third stage of the tour, Fothen took over the white jersey of the best young professional, which he had to give back for one day after three stages and was able to recapture himself during the 7th stage - a time trial - and wore it for a total of 13 days. He finished second behind the Italian Damiano Cunego . After the presentation of the 2007 Tour in Paris at the end of October, he said he was confident that he would repeat and even expand his strong performances, since the two long time trials to the Alps and the Pyrenees would suit his driving style. However, he could not live up to expectations and finished the Tour de France in 34th place.

His first team in the adult area is TEAG Köstritzer (U23) . From 2004 to 2008 he drove for the Gerolsteiner team . After the dissolution of the Milram team , for which he started in 2009 and 2010, he switched to the newly founded NSP team in 2011 .

On July 24, 2013 he contested his last bike race in Neuss . The reason he gave increasing health problems, especially muscular ones, and the lack of success in the last years of his career. The deciding factor for the decision to end his career was an inflammation of both knees, which he contracted before Rund um Köln in 2013 .

family

Markus Fothen is married, has two children and lives in Kaarst on the Lower Rhine . His younger brother Thomas Fothen was also a professional cyclist until 2011.