Trio in the medal fight
This is how Styrian our Olympic cyclists are
With Anna Kiesenhofer, Maximilian Schmidbauer and Felix Großschartner, Styria has three Olympic hopes on the road bike. And each of the trio has a legitimate chance of winning a medal in Paris. The "Krone" took a closer look at the trio.
"The memories are still very vivid! I was there in the support car and it was only in the last three or four kilometers that we could believe it," says Klaus Kabasser, thinking back to 2021, when mathematician Anna Kiesenhofer from the Cookina Graz cycling team sensationally won the Olympic gold medal in the road race. "In the last 15 kilometers I also became a mathematician, I did a lot of calculations," laughs the Styrian coach of the women's national team.
It wasn't such a big surprise for him at the time. "Anna was unknown to the general public, but she had already finished fifth in the time trial at the European Championships back then. She just selectively rode international races," says Kabasser, who knows that nobody will underestimate her in this year's Olympic races and let her pull away.
No medals are expected in the road race this time either. The coach believes the chances are greater in the individual time trial - Anna Kiesenhofer's favorite discipline. The 33-year-old has also made special preparations for this. "Of course, anything can always happen, but it's fairly predictable," says Kabasser and calculates: "A medal would still be a sensation, the top 5 would be very good, the top 10 realistic, the top 15 good and anything outside the top 15 would be a disappointment."
Preparation in Schladming
With Felix Großschartner, Styria also has a mountain specialist on site in Paris - in 2024 he helped Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar to overall victory at the Giro d'Italia. The 30-year-old professional, who was born in Wels, is firmly rooted in the Grüner Mark. His father is from Styria. Although Felix has an apartment in Linz, he built his house in the Schladming area. And the UAE Team Emirates skier also completed his final preparations for the Olympic Games in the area around the Planai.
Maximilian Schmidbauer is the third member of the Styrian team. The 22-year-old is going to the Olympic Games for the first time, where he will set the track alight with his bike. The Viennese-born rider, who rides for the WSA-KTM Graz team, has already put his talent to the test. In 2022, he was crowned European U23 points race champion in Portugal, as well as double national champion (points race and two-man team race). In the previous year, he also won gold in the U23 European Championships in Portugal in the two-man team race and bronze in the points race. In 2023, Schmidbauer even won four national championship titles on his home track (elimination race, omnium, points race, two-man team race).
"He is capable of anything at the Olympic Games," Christoph Resl, boss of WSA KTM Graz, is certain. "It's not for nothing that he's a double European champion. On a good day he has a chance of winning a medal, on a bad day he could finish further down the table. But his entire preparation was geared towards Paris. That will work out."
Schmidbauer won't let himself get too nervous ahead of his competition on August 10. "He's a very easy-going guy. He's quite good on the road, but track cycling is his specialty. His training has gone well and his success proves him right," says Resl, keeping his fingers crossed. Just like all the other cyclists and the many other Olympians in the various disciplines.
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