The Felt Felbermayr team has not yet completely given up hope, but the chances of a rescue are slim. After the Pierer Mobility Group's main sponsorship contract was not renewed, a large hole appeared in the planned budget. The shareholders of Radsport Wels GmbH have not yet succeeded in finding a new partner. "Although there was a huge outcry in the Austrian sports scene following the withdrawal of the previous main sponsor, there is still no potential main sponsor in sight," reads a statement from the team. Time is of the essence: a main sponsor must be found by the end of September 2024.
100 days of cycling for Team Felt Felbermayr 2024
The professional cyclists from Wels spent over 100 days racing as Team Felt Felbermayr in the 2024 cycling season. According to their own assessment, the 16 professional cyclists and the support team have become one big family. "The team spirit in our team is extremely high. It would be an extreme shame if our journey were to end like this," emphasises race director Rupert Hödlmoser.
Felt Felbermayer continues to hope
Professional cyclists are now launching original appeals to find new sponsors. For example, professional cyclist Felix Ritzinger took a photo of himself at the King of the Lake 2024 with the appeal "Your advert could be here" in the bib pocket of his time trial suit. And team-mate Jakob Purtscheller posted a video in which he promoted the Wels team as an advertising platform. "We are continuing to do everything we can to maintain professional cycling in Wels," emphasises RSW Managing Director Daniel Repitz.
In sporting terms, the "Felbermayr Express" is currently in a good position. This is reflected in the nominations for the Road Cycling World Championships 2024 in Zurich. A total of four professional cyclists from Wels are competing at the World Championships in the neighbouring country. Sebastian Schönberger and Emanuel Zangerle will start for Austria on 29 September due to their top performances in the road race, while Felix Ritzinger started in the team time trial on 25 September. There he met team-mate Miguel Heidemann, who is competing in this race and the individual time trial for Germany.
Felt Felbermayer with a long history
The team was founded in 2004 under the name Radclub-Resch & Frisch Eybl Wels and has held a licence as a UCI Continental Team since 2005. From 2015 to 2023 it raced as Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels and only this season as Team Felt Felbermayr.
There are also sponsorship problems for other teams: the British Trinity Racing Team and the women's team Lifeplus Wahoo recently announced their withdrawal due to a lack of sponsors. In Germany, the P&S Metalltechnik - Benotti team announced that their main sponsor will no longer be with them in 2025. However, the German UCI Conti Team is currently assuming that the gap can be filled by new sponsors.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
