Interview Steinhauser: Father and son on their Giro success and other cycling anecdotes

Interview with Tobias and Georg Steinhauser

TOUR: Georg, on 22 May you celebrated your first victory as a professional cyclist on the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia from Selva di Val Gardena to the Passo Brocon. A few hundred kilometres away, you, Tobias, were sitting in the Eurosport studio in Munich, watching your son's breakthrough live on camera. Was that a coincidence?

Tobias Steinhauser: We were at the Giro stage in Livigno a few days earlier - that's when I got the call from Eurosport, from Jens Voigt. He asked if I had time, the people at Eurosport would like me in the studio or for a live programme. I said straight away that we would do the studio - on one condition: We go for a beer afterwards. Rolf Aldag, Jens and me. I don't know why this Wednesday of all days was ultimately the day of choice.

TOUR: Together with the Eurosport experts Rolf Aldag and Jens Voigt, you were part of a generation of racers. They know each other well. Georg had already attracted attention when he came third on the longest Giro stage to the ski resort above Livigno - behind Tadej Pogacar and Nairo Quintana. Did you have a premonition?

Tobias Steinhauser: I called Georg the day before I set off for Munich. I asked if there was anything I needed to know. He said he'd try again tomorrow. I have to say what was actually outstanding: on every Giro stage where he said beforehand that he wanted to give it a go, he was also in the leading group. And I know from my own experience how difficult it is to get into a group.

Giro d`Italia: The biggest challenge yet

The Giro was my first Grand Tour. Before that, I had only ridden for a maximum of ten days at a time. It was somehow unimaginable for me to do that for 21 days. - Georg Steinhauser

TOUR: Georg, at the end of this day you had the success that made you known to the general public as a professional cyclist. How did you experience the path to your greatest success to date?

Georg Steinhauser: I was really excited before the Giro. It was the first Grand Tour of my career. Before that, I had ridden a one-week tour, ten days in a row at most. And I knew how tired and exhausted I was afterwards. So it was somehow unimaginable for me to do it for 21 days.

TOUR: How did you prepare for this?

Georg Steinhauser: Even before the season started, I set myself the goal of the Giro. When I arrived at the Giro, I talked a lot with the experienced pros. And then I was always told: You have to look from day to day! And that's what I did.

TOUR: That's a truism. In fact, you should first try out what you could achieve in the overall classification of the Tour of Italy.

Georg Steinhauser: After the first week, I lost so much time before the rest day due to illness that the overall classification was no longer an issue. We then changed the plan and worked with the sports management to pick out a few days that would suit me.

TOUR: But that wasn't your first setback this season...

Georg Steinhauser: There are always things that happen. At the start of the season, I crashed badly at the UAE Tour, had a concussion and had to take a break. When I started racing again, things went pretty badly at first. You have to get over something like that. The fact that things went so well at the Giro was also a surprise for me and a great feeling because everything had paid off.

Emotional reactions to Georg Steinhauser's Giro success

I tried to pull myself together to get three words out in the studio - which I managed to do to some extent. - Tobias Steinhauser

TOUR: Tobias, how did you experience your son's great success?

Tobias Steinhauser: I sat in front of the monitor for the last few kilometres. I witnessed the victory live and was correspondingly emotional. The whole thing is not just a race. I know that myself: There are low points, you have to crawl back up again. When it pays off - there's nothing better.

TOUR: There were live pictures of you on Eurosport, showing how gripped you were and how you had to wipe your eyes. Were you aware that you were being watched by a camera?

Tobias Steinhauser: I would have cried a lot more if I hadn't known that I was about to be on air. So I tried to pull myself together to get three words out in the studio - which I managed to do to some extent. But I didn't know that everything was being filmed. But in hindsight, it was a great story. I got reactions to the clip from all over the world - Spain, Italy, France, everywhere. That made me happy. Because that means: cycling inspires with its emotions.

TOUR: You enjoy it yourself - the ex-professional cyclist as a fan?

Tobias Steinhauser: I myself was a normal spectator at the Giro, at the stage to Livigno: it's just great how good the people are there. Even if you're not a cycling fan, you can only recommend going there.

TOUR: Georg, have you ever seen your father so emotional around a bike race?

Georg Steinhauser: No, never actually.

Tobias Steinhauser on his time as a professional cyclist

TOUR: Tobias, you yourself narrowly missed out on a stage win at the Giro d'Italia in 1997, finishing fourth, the same time as the stage winner. What did Georg do better than you back then?

Tobias Steinhauser: I simply made the wrong decision on that stage. It was too far to the finish on my own, so I waited for the three behind me. I thought I'd lose them on the next climb. And in the end I just messed it up, to put it bluntly. Here in the Allgäu we say: 'Dr Wenn und dr Hätt hat nie viel g'hätt'. And Georg just didn't do that. That's the great thing about cycling today: they all just keep on attacking - even if they're only five metres ahead. After all, those behind them have to catch up with them first. And they just don't get caught up every now and then. That has become ingrained in the minds of today's racers. It used to be completely different. The sporting directors, the experienced people, didn't aim in this direction back then.

TOUR: Is this the only attitude that has changed in professional cycling?

Tobias Steinhauser: The whole thing is now more professional. In my opinion, racing drivers' understanding of the sport and training has increased. They simply understand it better. It continues with nutrition. The peak is within a narrow range. A few watts more or less simply make a big difference - often the difference between winning and losing. If you come third, you've done a great job. But the public only really realise it when you win.

In my opinion, racing drivers' understanding of the sport and training has increased. They simply understand it better. - Tobias Steinhauser

Cycling is a sport of results

TOUR: Georg, it looks as if you experienced an explosion of performance at the Giro, as if it was your breakthrough. In cycling, a lot is measured by results and above all by victories. Why did it work out just now?

Georg Steinhauser: There are so many factors at play, some of which are out of your control. I still say that I was actually in my best form in 2023 before the Vuelta (Tour of Spain in August/September; editor's note). But I didn't even get to the Vuelta back then because I had corona before that. In my first two professional years, I ended the season a little earlier because I got sick. And in my first year as a pro, I was still training at the same time. This year at the Giro was the first time that everything actually went more or less smoothly - even though I crashed at the Tour of the Alps beforehand. But it happens to every athlete: everyone gets sick sometimes, everyone crashes sometimes. It's just part of the job.

TOUR: We mustn't forget this success: It was your debut in a three-week stage race. How hard did you find your first Grand Tour?

Georg Steinhauser: I had imagined it would be more difficult. I've learnt that it can be longer, that all riders have to go through the same thing - whether it's raining or 35 degrees. What I imagined would be easier: riding for the overall classification. It gave me a lot of strength when I decided to take it easy on individual days. You have to be on top form every day for the overall classification. I still need to take a few more steps and gain more experience.

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Support from home

TOUR: Your father had to assert himself at a young age against the resistance of a family that was not into cycling. He secretly bought his first racing bike himself. How much support did you feel at home on your way to becoming a professional cyclist?

Georg Steinhauser: I didn't have to buy a bike in secret. But what I think is good now, looking back, is that everything actually came from me. I got my first racing bike from my best friend's father. My parents always supported me. But they said: if you need something, it has to come from you, you have to ask for it.

Training during the professional cycling career

My current training routine feels like a luxury. Looking back, it sounds impossible that I was in the workshop at half past six in the morning. - Georg Steinhauser

TOUR: But it's not part of the job as a professional cyclist to complete vocational training on the side. You did that. You trained as a metalworker in your father's company. Was that a requirement of your parents?

Georg Steinhauser: I actually realised that I wanted to do an apprenticeship and then concentrate on cycling. However, I didn't expect to get a professional contract while I was still training. Looking back now, I did everything exactly right. My current training routine now feels like a luxury. Looking back, it sounds impossible even to me that I was in the workshop at half past six in the morning and worked half a day before training.

TOUR: You had to start at 6.30 a.m. and were allowed to finish at 1 p.m. to still have time for training. What did the boss do to ensure that your colleagues didn't get the impression that the junior was being favoured too much?

Tobias Steinhauser: He did what everyone else did. No more and no less, I would say. Like everyone else, he had to be there at 6.30 am. But if he came home from a race at three in the morning, there was an exception. But that also applies to the others who work for me. If someone has had a rough night, they just call me and say: "Wow, boss, I'd better not come in until twelve. That's not a problem.

TOUR: Georg, the World Tour team EF Education EasyPost and its boss Jonathan Vaughters offered you dual training as a professional cyclist and metalworker. Why did you ultimately decide in favour of this team?

Georg Steinhauser: At the time, I was in contact with two teams that I felt were really interested in me: Eolo-Kometa and EF. That was what I wanted to feel. For me, it's just important that they really believe in me and support me in a team.

Cycling family Steinhauser

TOUR: Georg, you come from a cycling family. Your father was a professional cyclist for teams such as Gerolsteiner, Coast/Bianchi and T-Mobile at the turn of the millennium. Your uncle is Jan Ullrich. To what extent have you been influenced by their careers?

Georg Steinhauser: Until I was 17 or 18 years old, it was always like this for me: my father was just my father and my uncle was just my uncle. Of course I knew what they had achieved. Of course I saw the jerseys in the cellar. I also looked at a few of my father's races and old pictures. But I focussed a bit on myself, I went my own way. They wrote their story and I did my thing.

TOUR: How does this attitude affect you, Tobias?

Tobias Steinhauser: I think about how it used to be with us. Back then, the old people used to tell us: The mountains used to be even steeper and the snow even colder. I'm inspired by my children's attitude - and not just in cycling. The same applies to my two daughters (25 and 19 years old; editor's note). One is studying, the other is doing an apprenticeship. And as a father, I'm just happy to see them make their way.

About Tobias Steinhauser

• Nationality: German
• born: 27 January 1972 in Lindenberg
• Size: 1,85 m
• Weight: 72 kg
• Profession: Managing director and owner of Metalltechnik Steinhauser; trained blacksmith
• Place of residence: Scheidegg (Allgäu)
• Professional: from 1996 to 2005
• Successes: Tour of Slovenia 1994, Tour of Hesse/Three Countries Tour, fifth place in the 2000 World Championships, third place in the Tour of Germany, stage win in the Tour de Suisse 2002
• Teams: Refin-Mobilvetta (1996-1997), Vitalicio Seguros (1998), Mapei-Quick-Step (1999), Gerolsteiner (2000-2002), Coast/Bianchi (2003), T-Mobile (2004-2005)

About Georg Steinhauser

• Nationality: German
• born: 21 October 2001 in Lindenberg
• Size: 1.89 m Weight 71 kg
• Profession: Professional cyclist (trained metalworker)
• Place of residence: Lochau (Vorarlberg/Austria)
• Professional: since 2022
• Successes: Stage victory Saarland Trofeo, stage victory Oberösterreich-Rundfahrt, stage and overall victory Ain-Bugey-Valromey Tour (2019), Gippinger Radsporttage, stage Giro della Valle d'Aosta, third Piccolo Lombardia 2021, stage runner-up Tour of the Alps 2023, stage Giro d'Italia 2024
• Teams: Tirol KTM Cycling Team (2020-2021), EF Education EasyPost (2022-2026)