Carsten Podlesch (born 6 September 1969 in Berlin) is a German stayer and the World Champion in motor-paced racing.

Podlesch comes from a family that has been very involved in motor-paced racing. His father Rainer Podlesch was an Amateur World Champion twice, and his uncle Karsten Podlesch used to operate as a pacer. Podlesch became a stayer at the age of 19. During his career that spanned almost four decades he gained the World Championship twice, European Championship thrice, and the German Championship thirteen times^[1] making him one of the most successful motor-paced cyclists ever. With his uncle as pacer the Podlesch/Podlesch team gained the 2000 European Championship. In 1994 Podlesch won the last UCI World Championship with his pacer Dieter Durst - the UCI ceased conducting this event subsequently as too few nations were competing - and thus remains the reigning and "forever" champion.

Podlesch retired from motor-paced racing in 2008.

• UCI Motor-paced World Championships

• Spiegel report on Podlesch Family (in German)