Image: GEPA pictures
Anna Kiesenhofer's gold coup suddenly highlighted women's cycling in Austria. Her Olympic victory should ideally provide new impulses, although Kiesenhofer largely eludes the current system of team membership and corresponding races at home and abroad through her solo path.
“A lot has already happened in Austria. It's much bigger, the density of skills is higher,” is how the mathematician, who lives in Switzerland, assesses the situation among women in this country. She rarely competes in her home country, but occasionally celebrates considerable success in single start hill climbs and time trials. In contrast to her, most of the other Austrian drivers are integrated in the regular racing operations of the meanwhile six women's racing stables such as Cookina Graz, La Musette and RRT Pielachtal.
This year, for the first time, this enables them to take part in the local cycling league, which was previously reserved for men. The Austrian Cycling Association (ÖRV) is happy that the implementation has finally succeeded, as sports director Christoph Peprnicek emphasizes. “It was also very important to us that the prize money is the same as that of the men. We had to fight for that.”
Even before Kiesenhofer's Olympic sensation, a new project to promote women had been submitted to the Ministry of Sports. “That is up to the ministry, we have not yet received an answer,” said Peprnicek and also announced the long-planned creation of a gender ombudsman in the association.
With the tailwind of Kiesenhofer's success, the ÖRV also wants to work on other “construction sites” – such as the still unresolved railway issue after the upcoming demolition of the Dusikastadion. “We will also use this hype and point out the fact that the stadium will be torn away from us without a replacement. We certainly have a good starting position there, we will try to use it. We will definitely apply pressure.”
In addition, it is to be hoped that the statements made by political decision-makers in the course of the Kiesenhofer success will not remain lip service, said Peprnicek. This also applies to the men's tour of Austria, which had to be canceled again this year due to financial difficulties.
Young talent projects for girls are also to be promoted under the new ÖRV President Harald Mayer. Of course, you will not be able to draw on the full in the future either, talent is scarce and the budget is limited. And so, individual phenomena such as Christiane Söder in the past and now Kiesenhofer will probably have to keep looking good.
The vast majority of domestic drivers are, like the newly crowned Olympic champion, not professionals and pursue their passion alongside their daily occupations. With Sarah Rijkes, the sisters Kathrin and Christina Schweinberger, Verena Eberhardt and Nadja Heigl, some of them also earn money with foreign teams. However, the eight racing teams in the highest international category with the most professional structures and the top-class racing calendar currently do without Austrians.
Kiesenhofer appears at her occasional appearances in Austria for the Graz Cookina team, which is led by long-time ÖRV functionary Klaus Kabasser. For Peprnicek, the general situation of women's teams has “definitely” developed in a positive direction in recent years. “Something is moving there. It's getting better, but also on a small scale.”
The Olympic champion is continuing on her special path anyway. “I hope that it inspires others to go their own way and not necessarily do what is done in cycling. To have the courage,” said Kiesenhofer, who mistrusts the coach and manager structures after bad experiences. She still does not want to go into a fixed team structure. “My boyfriend and I have settled in well in Lausanne, I've been happy there for four years, have a good job at university. I don't want to give up this life. I enjoy being my own boss. I will also be myself in the future decide which races I take part in. “
When your next assignment will be is still open. You may see her on August 21 at the Mountain State Championships on the Hochkar in her homeland in Lower Austria. There she had won the title by a large margin last year.
