The Wels professional cycling team has been successful as a Continental team for many years. The team from the trade fair city has been present in the Conti League at many races in Europe since 2005. The new bike brand Felt now opens up new sporting perspectives. The bicycle manufacturer Felt is based in the USA and France. The contract was concluded for a period of several years. The Felbermayr company remains on board as a major co-sponsor.“The entire FELT Bicycles team is really proud to support the Austria-based Felt Felbermayr team. Together we look forward to cycling into a future, which is characterized by passion, performance and hopefully numerous victories,” emphasizes Florian Burguet, Managing Director of FELT Bicycles.
“We at Radsport Wels GmbH are also looking forward to working together in the coming years. In 2024 we will still be competing with a Conti license, but we will expand our racing calendar and take part in many major UCI races and UCI tours,” emphasizes Radsport Wels GmbH Managing Director Daniel Repitz.
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8 new additions to Team Felt Felbermayr for the 2024 racing season
Hermann PERNSTEINER
The most prominent new addition to the Wels team is Hermann Pernsteiner from Burgenland. The 33-year-old has been with Team Bahrain-Victorious in the World Tour for the past six years. The mountain specialist celebrated his greatest successes with the overall victory in the Tour of Azerbaijan 2017, a 2nd stage place in the Giro d'Italia 2020 and a 3rd stage place in the Tour de Suisse 2021. He also showed great results at the Tour of Austria in 2018 took 2nd place overall. Pernsteiner comes to the Wels team highly motivated and wants to help the team from the trade fair city achieve great success this year with his skills and experience.
Sebastian SCHÖNBERGER
Another new top driver is coming to Wels from the ProConti League. Sebastian Schönberger from Innviertel worked for the Human Powered Health Team in 2023 and was previously an important key performer for the B&B Hotels Equipe for three years. His greatest successes so far were a 3rd overall place at the Tour de Vandee 2021, he also took 3rd overall place at the Tour of Albania 2019 and was fifth overall at the Czech Cycling Tour 2018. The 29-year-old wants to achieve great success this year with the Felt Felbermayr team drive in.
Patryk STOSZ
With the Pole Patryk Stosz, the Welser team signed a strong sprinter to ensure optimal victories even in flat one-day races or stagesto have ncens. The 29-year-old newcomer has already won numerous UCI races in recent years and also took overall victory in the Tour of Bulgaria. In 2023 he won the Porec Trophy and the 3rd stage of the Tour of Bulgaria. His appearance at the Tour of Austria 2023 was sensational, where Stosz, as an actual sprinter, was able to win the overall mountain classification of the tour.
Pyotr BROZYNA
With Piotr Brozyna from Poland, a strong mountain specialist is joining the team from the trade fair city. The 28-year-old from the city of Kielce has already achieved several top placements and has already played for the Polish team CCC in the ProConti League. The 1.92 meter tall professional cyclist competed for his home country at the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow and provided valuable services to his captain Michael Kwiatkowski. This year, Brozyna also took an excellent 2nd place at the GP Slovakia and finished the Tour of Malopolska 2023 in a strong 5th place overall.
Tom WIRTGEN
The 27-year-old Luxembourger Tom Wirtgen comes to Wels after a few years in the ProConti League and has already achieved numerous top results: he was on the podium in UCI races in France and Portugal, among others. At the start of the 2019 Tour of Austria, he narrowly missed the podium with fourth place. Even as a junior, he made a big impression with fourth place at the World Championships in the individual time trial in Norway. The 1.91 meter tall driver has diverse qualities as an all-rounder and Wirtgen is always a force to be reckoned with in individual time trials.
Miguel HEIDEMANN
This year, 25-year-old Miguel Heidemann from Bonn took an excellent second place in the individual time trial in the elite class at the German Championships and ended up in 20th place in this discipline at the 2022 World Championships. He finished the Tour du Jura in 9th place overall in 2023. Another top result was 6th place at the German Road Championships the year before. The big goal of the season is a UCI race win and participation in the Tour of Austria.
Dominik HÖDLMOSER
The 18-year-old top talent Dominik Hödlmoser from Plainfeld comes from mountain biking and has set himself the goal of setting important accents in the races in his first racing season on the road. “Cycling is my great passion. The switch from mountain bike to road is a big change that I am looking forward to with great enthusiasm,” says Hödlmoser. With the Welser team, participants in the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will find optimal conditions. Its strengths lie on technically difficult routes and longer climbs.
Julian PÖCHACKER
The Lower Austrian Julian Pöchacker was already the Austrian junior cross-country champion and came in 21st place at the European Cross-Country Championships. This year he secured victory on the 60 kilometer route in the difficult Salzkammergut Trophy 2023.At the Austrian Mountain Championships he also showed a top performance and was able to achieve 10th place.The 1.85 meter tall driver has his strengths on hilly and technically demanding routes.
The contracts with 8 drivers have been extended
Riccardo ZOIDL
Riccardo Zoidl is one of the most successful professional cyclists in Austrian cycling and will also compete for the Messestadt team in 2024. TheThe Upper Austrian caused a sensation in 2013 with his victory in the Austrian cycling tour - that was also his springboard into the World Tour: He was involved in the World Tour for 4 years with Team Trek and the Polish CCC team. The 35-year-old professional cyclist is still a top rider and missed the podium by just a few seconds in the Tour of Upper Austria with 5th place overall.
Michael KUKRLE
With Michael Kukrle from the Czech Republic, an absolute winning rider has extended his stay with the Wels professional cyclists. The 28-year-old was able to win a total of 3 UCI races this year (two in Poland, one in Italy) and has since won the yellow jersey at the Friuli-Venezia Tour. Michale Kukrle has his strengths on difficult, hilly routes.
Emanuel ZANGERLE
Emanuel Zangerle from Tyrol showed outstanding performances in 2023 and won the Bundesliga race in Wieselburg and came second in the road race in Braunau. He also won the sprint jersey at the Tour of Istanbul in 2023. The 23-year-old surprised everyone with his top results. Zangerle is a diamond in the rough and has its strengths especially on technically demanding routes.
Felix RITZINGER
The Viennese is one of the most versatile riders at the Welser team and was crowned 1st Austrian gravel champion in 2023. Ritzinger also competed for Austria in two competitions at the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow - both on the track and on the road: With 12th place in the Madison, he and his partner have every chance of qualifying for the Olympic Games to qualify in Paris. The 26-year-old professional cyclist also made a big impression on the road this year and took runner-up title at the Austrian State Championships in the individual time trial against strong competition from the World Tour.
Matthias REUTIMANN
The 28-year-old Swiss Matthias Reutimann has his strengths especially in difficult, hilly races and was able to show strong results in a number of races this year. At the end of the season he showed his class once again at the Tour of Istanbul 2023 with a 6th stage place on the 3rd stage. He was also a very important support in the Messestadt team at the Tour of Austria this year.
Jakob PURTSCHELLER
The 19-year-old was able to achieve his first top 10 placement in a UCI race with an 8th place in the last race of the 2023 season, the Tour of Istanbul. Jakob Purtscheller comes from his own offspring and has his strengths in sprints and as an individual time triallist. “The jump from juniors to elite was a big challenge for me this year. I want to develop further in 2024 and achieve great success with the team,” said Purtscheller.
Daniel FEDERSPLAY
Daniel Federspiel has also extended his contract. The two-time world champion in the mountain bike eliminator is an all-rounder and a guarantee for success: in 2023, the Tyrolean won the Austrian championship title in cyclocross and important races in Tyrol and Salzburg, where he prevailed at the City Hill Climb against Tour de France hero Felix Gall . Federspiel also showed top performances in the cycling league and took second place in the cherry blossom race. In total, “Feder” has achieved 21 race victories, 14 additional podium places and 4 Austrian championship titles in his 3 years with the Welser team.
Josef DIRNBAUER
Josef Dirnbauer from Langenwang in Styria will also be pedaling for the Messestadt residents next year. The 1.73 meter tall driver was crowned Austrian Amateur Road Champion 2021. His best results so far include an 8th place at the national championships in the individual time trial and, most recently, a 14th place on the 4th stage of the Tour of Istanbul 2023 stand. In his third year as a professional cyclist, he wants to really get started in 2024.
Top support staff at Team Felt Felbermayr
The team will compete in the 2024 racing seasonRupert HÖDLMOSERas an athletic director who, in his second year in this role, is approaching the work with great ambitions. The 35-year-old from St. Gilgen was able to win several races in his active career. ““It would be a dream to get into the top ten of the Europe Tour team rankings,” says Rupert Hödlmoser, who has big goals.The coaching staff is supplemented byPhilipp BACHL:As a supervisory trainer, the former top cross-country skier analyzes the athletes' current performance development. In addition, he advises professional cyclists on all sports science questions. “With the supervisor trainer we have a better and scientific insight into the performance development of the drivers“, emphasizes Rupert Hödlmoser.
The support team plays a key role in the success
In addition to the quality of the riders, a key success factor for the Wels professional cycling team is the professional environment: two racing managers, two mechanics and five masseurs who work alternately ensure that the professional cyclists are optimally looked after before, during and after the races. In the 2023 racing season, the Felbermayr Express was in use for a total of 100 racing days and covered over 35,000 racing and training kilometers. “This intensity cannot be managed without an optimally coordinated team of supervisors,” says Rupert Hödlmoser.
Preparations for the 2024 racing season are in full swing
Preparations for the 2024 racing bike season are in full swing. In December 2023, the team completed a 10-day training camp in Croatia in addition to the drivers' individual preparation. Unfortunately, the training camp was marked by the serious traffic accident that was not our fault, with 3 injured cyclists. All affected drivers are now on their way back and are all recovering completely.
Welser team opens racing season in the UAE at the end of January 2024
The Wels professional cyclists are starting the racing season much earlier this year than in previous years. From January 26th to 31st, 2024, the professional cyclists will compete in the Tour of Sharjah (UCI 2.2) in the United Arab Emirates. This is followed by an intensive training block before the Istrian Spring Trophy in Croatia and the Tour of Rhodes in Greece continue at the end of February/beginning of March 2024.
The most important race in Austria this year will be the Tour of Austria from July 3rd to 7th, 2024, but also the increasingly important Int. The Wels team wants to show off the Raiffeisen Upper Austria Tour in mid-June. The domestic racing season begins with the season opening race in Leonding on March 24, 2024. This race also marks the start of the National Cycling League. “We want to be at the front right at the start of the season and get our first win of the season in the Bundesliga home race in Leonding,” emphasizes Hödlmoser. The professional cyclists from the trade fair city also want to be ahead at the home race - the traditional Wels cherry blossom race on April 28, 2024, which will be held as a UCI race for the first time this year.
Felbermayr remains an important sponsor
The Felbermayr company from Wels was the main sponsor of the cycling team from the trade fair city from 2015 to 2023. The Wels-based construction and heavy goods logistics company remains on board as a major sponsor. “Cycling has always held a special fascination for us. We support the Wels professional cycling team because the RSW offers professional conditions and top performance. The team spirit is excellent, and promoting young talent is also very important to us,” emphasizes Managing Director Dipl.-Ing. Horst Felbermayr.
RSW GmbH ensures a good economic basis: promoting young talent is of great importance
RSW GmbH (Rad Sport Wels) is behind the success of the Wels cycling team: the shareholders Daniel Repitz, Harald Benesch and Paul Resch have set themselves the goal of increasing the status of cycling in Austria. Wels has also had great success in supporting young talent. Young riders are optimally looked after and carefully introduced to the cycling elite. The optimal mix of established professional cyclists and local talent contributes to this. In recent years, many professional cyclists have been able to make the jump to World Tour teams. These drivers unanimously emphasize how important the time in Wels was for their sporting and personal development. “With the professional environment in Wels, we are creating the optimal conditions for the further development of the drivers and for commitment to top international teams,” says RSW managing director Daniel Repitz.
About FELT:
FELT Bicycles is a leading high-performance bicycle manufacturer known for its commitment to innovation, technology and the pursuit of speed. With a rich history and a great passion for cycling, FELT Bicycles continually pushes the boundaries to create bicycles that enhance the riding experience. Whether on road or gravel, Felt Bicycles offers a diverse selection of road bikes designed to inspire cyclists around the world.
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