Place 23 - Georg Preidler

Georg Preidler

Austria

17.06.1990

 

Rider type: Hard One day races

Biggest success: 1st Toscana-Terra di Ciclismo-Coppa delle Nazioni

Team/Club 2011: Tyrol Team

Stagiaire: -

Team 2012: Team Type 1

Best Mock List-placing: new

Web: -

 

Mining? The stark opposite of what George Preidler can do better. While studying at the university for mining in Leoben is more about the mountain interior, the Preidinator – hopefully he will never actually be called like this, however the team homepage carries this name as his nickname - rides especially well along the mountain, respectively on top of it.

 

So mountains are exactly the thing for the young Austrian. He was born on June 17th 1990 in Graz. In juniors classes, he was rather mediocre, but at least riding for the national team. Cyclingarchives.com knows exactly one junior result, which is from the third stage of the Peace Race 2008. Only Kwiatkowski and a certain Peter Sagan beat him. In 2010 he hired at the CT Team Arbö from Wels. He won the U23-Bundesliga in Austria, and was runner-up on the national mountain championships. Despite the team's commitment, they didn't take him along to the the Tour of Austria, the most important race in the alpine country. In 2011 he joined the Tyrol Team, also a continental team.

 

Preidler started his season with the new team in Croatia. In the sprint of the Porec Trophy, it didn't work out very well, booking the twentieth place in the end. At the Istrian Spring Trophy he climbs with the best, becomes fifth on the second stage. After three stages he only got the thirteenth place overall, after loosing to much time in the first stage. At the Austrian season opener in Leonding he crossed the finish line in fifth positon. The route seems set for April.

 

This April is a very special month, both for Preidler and as well for Austrian Cycling. In the sprint of the Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza, he has no chance again, 13th place at the end. Nearly three weeks later he celebrated his greatest success however. In Tuscany the U23 Cup of Nations took place. He struggled through five stages of the race, was always in front, on two stages even entered the Top 10, one ninth place, the other time he came in fourth. Until the end Fabio Aru was wearing the leaders jersey, that he took on the third stage. But on the last stage Aru crashed and to the Italians dismay, an Austrian won suddenly and unexpectedly. Encouraged by these events, he duped the Italian U23 Elite one more time three days later. At GP Palio del Recioto (1.2U) he won solo, dropping himself with an attack shortly before the finish and nobody was able to follow. Puccio, Locatelli, Battaglin, Moser and again Aru took the following places, besides Locatelli all riders found their way to this Mock List.

 

After these extremely successful weeks came a little break, he came into the international picture at the Thüringen Rundfahrt (2.2U). In the overall standings he hadn't somethin to say, but secured the polka dot jersey. One week later at the state championship it was enough for the fifth place behind two team-mates.

 

This year ist also worked with the Tour of Austria (2.HC). But at Kessiakoff's outstanding victory he wasn't able to place himself especially far ahead.

In the end, it was the 27th Place. However, the next peak was initially set for September. After the one day race Ljubljana - Zagreb (1.2) (14th place), he went to France for the Tour de l'Avenir. Another Nations Cup race, he wanted to finish far ahead. On the first stage he lost only four seconds to stage winner Hofland, on the fifth stage he reached the finish at Mont Salève 50 seconds after Bardet. At the end of this Chaos-Tour, where something crazy occured on every stage and where the general classification was shaken up on the relative easy last stage, he finished seventh.

when something crazy happened at every stage and was spun on the last, relatively mild stage of the overall standings once again, he finished in seventh place.

 

Without doubt Preidler will be a guy for difficult one day races and easier stage races. Of course his victory in Italy was lucky, but you have to work for this luck over five stages. And the seventh place at the Tour de l'Avenir shows, that he is a fighter and able to struggle through. The world road race will be too easy, but he and others are going to try something and will look for an opportunity in a breakaway. Unfortunately he is still looking for a team for 2012 and hasn't found a pro team yet.

 

Update:

In the meanwhile the US Team Type 1 gave him a contract for next season.

 

Nominated by Offi, written by Offi, translated by ocana