The Maloja Pushbikers are starting this season with a German continental license and aim to take part in the Germany Tour.
With the South Korean company Wiawis, the team also has a new bike sponsor at its side. The leading manufacturer of dairy products in Bavaria, the Berchtesgadener Land dairy, also becomes a new partner of Maloja Pushbikers. Everyone wants to help support the team in their goal - and that is the targeted development of talent, combined with the promotion of young regional drivers.
When the new team riders were introduced at the Maloja headquarters in Rimsting am Chiemsee, it became very clear that the Maloja Pushbikers are serious about their new strategic direction. Ten of the 15 team drivers are younger than 24 years. Five of these young drivers come from Bavaria. "Discovering talents and training them to become complete drivers is one of our great strengths," says team manager Christian Grasmann with confidence. "The goal must be to develop individual drivers to the extent that they make it into the top teams and play a leading role there."
With Florence Knauer, Helmut Trettwer and the American Corey Davis, experienced road drivers are put at the side of the young talents. In addition, the entire team in Bad Tölz has a common area to train as much as possible in the region. The Pushbikers have also created the right conditions for technical support - for example with modern medical performance diagnostics.
"All young drivers have to gain experience," Grasmann explains. “Technology, nutrition, tactics - there are many areas to learn from. We want to help the boys to convey what they need to know early and in a targeted manner so that they can show their potential and skills early on. ”In addition, the development should take place without pressure to succeed.
It fits in with Rupert Hödlmoser, a young sports director who primarily understands the language of the young drivers. He is supported by Sebastian Baldauf, who himself raced for the Pushbikers until two years ago. The team of supervisors is rounded off by Gunther Peter (also sporting director) and team mechanic Sebastian Wilson, who is moving from Specialized to the Maloja Pushbikers.
The Holzkirchner team, which belongs to the RSV Irschenberg, has also made a number of sporting plans. While those in charge at Pushbikers are aware that there is a need to cut back on continuity with a young group, according to Grasmann, the potential of young drivers is high. A look at the driver list shows that. In 2019, the 19-year-old Miká Heming was convincing as overall winner of the junior classification in the German Radbundesliga and as seventh in the Germany Tour mountain classification. The Australian newcomer Jason Lea (23) won the overall mountain classification of the Santos Tour Down Under in 2019, while Laurin Winter (23) brings international experience from the Luxembourgish professional team Differdange as a top performer. Explained sporting highlights are the Germany Tour, in which the Pushbikers are currently working hard to get a starting place, races of the U23 Bundesliga, the prestigious Luxembourg tour Fleche de Sud, the Czech Cycling Tour (Cat 2.1) and the Korea Tour (Cat. 2.1 ).
The Pushbikers will contest the first race at the Tour of Rhodes at the end of February, after drivers and supervisors had previously met at the first training camp of the year on Lake Garda. With all sporting ambitions, the Pushbikers want to continue to preserve what they have stood for years. "We have always been a slightly different team that is characterized by strong team spirit, passion, but also visions for cycling," says Grasmann.
And a lot can also be expected technically. With Wiawis, the team has won a sponsor partner for racing bikes, which as a subsidiary of the world's leading manufacturer of sports bows “Win & Win” has special experience in the nano-carbon sector - a technology that is now also being incorporated into new technical developments in racing bikes. "We are not a large team," Grasmann knows, "but we are a good team that knows how to make young drivers very good drivers."
The 2020 team
Yannick Achterberg (26 / Regensburg), Corey Davis (28 / Virginia, USA), Leon Echtermann (23 / Hattersheim), Miká Heming (20 / Stadtlohn), Tobias Hornstein (19 / Munich), Florenz Knauer (31 / Lisberg), Jason Lea (23 / Australia), Matthias Mangertseder (22 / Arnstorf, residing in Rosenheim), Kilian Rietzler (20 / Kempten), Helmut Trettwer (35 / Teisendorf), Franz Schlachter (19 / Oberreute, Allgäu), Christoph Schoesswendtner (22 / Maria Alm, Austria), Lukas Stoiber (31 / Garsten, Austria), Laurin Winter (23 / Stuttgart), Tim Wollenberg (20 / Augsburg).