Things have changed quite a bit at the Tirol Cycling Team. After Harald Totschnig ended his active cycling career in the fall of 2013 following many successful years as captain and leader, a major restructuring of the team was planned for 2014. "I had some very good years with the Tirol Cycling Team ," Harald said at the time. His nickname, Totsch Viper, will likely stick with him this year as well: "Looking at the team for 2014, you can expect quite a lot ," he's certain.
With Josef Benetseder, a new, experienced captain has been found. The 30-year-old is one of Austria's best professionals and has already won the King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour of Austria, among other achievements. "It's fantastic how warmly I've been welcomed by the team ," said the Upper Austrian. "One of my stated goals is a podium finish in the Austrian Cycling Bundesliga." Along with Josef, a second Upper Austrian is also joining the Tyrolean team. Lukas Pöstlberger is the reigning U23 national road race champion and is an ideal fit for the team.
New to the team are several very young riders who are beginning their U23 careers and, through the Tirol Cycling Team, are taking the leap into the elite of cycling. Florian Schipflinger from Maishofen, Mario Stock from Weerberg, and Alexander Wachter from Pfunds complete the new additions. "We have a very well-balanced team for 2014 ," admits sporting director Roland Pils without hesitation. "In assembling the squad, we focused on young talents from Austria, thus essentially returning to the roots of the Tirol Cycling Team." He is convinced that 2014 will be a strong year for the team. "We are planning a very extensive race calendar and already noticed an incredible will and excellent team spirit at the first team meeting last weekend."
The Tirol Cycling Team starts the 14 season with a total of 2014 riders. Five of them are new to the team. They are also shown in the photo above: Mario Stock, Alexander Wachter and Florian Schipflinger are the three young talents who are starting in the U23 category for the first time this year in the Tirol Cycling Team. Veteran Josef Benetseder and the Austrian U23 state champion Lukas Pöstlberger complete the new team. (Left to right). The main sporting director of the team, Roland Pils (middle of the picture), is also new.