The 26-year-old loves to race the spring classics as well as grand tours. In the last six years, he has helped his teammates earn 25 wins across one-day races, stages, and general classifications, including 11 grand tour stage victories. Tobias excels in breakaways and medium mountain stages. He is a two-time U23 Austrian time trial and road race national champion and has podiumed at Brussels Cycling Classic.

After six years with the same team, Tobias is ready for a change. He wanted a team where his penchant for breakaways and his ability to race aggressively through all three weeks of a grand tour would be put to good use. EF Education-EasyPost was the first team that came to mind.

“I like this brave mentality of the team,” Tobias said. “It's a really attacking team. And I think that's just nice to race like this. 
And I think you have to do things differently in modern cycling, to win against those GC superstars. I mean, you saw in the Tour how successful the team was with their way of racing. The whole team went all out. I think you can only do it this way and they made a lot out of it. Plus, the pink jersey is iconic. I love it.”

Tobias is already looking forward to growing in a new environment and to supporting his new teammates.

“I want to make that next step. There is room to improve and I want to make this step. I always look forward to getting nice results with the team, to really fight for that together. Those are the nicest victories you can have when it's really a team effort. And when the opportunity is there to take something myself, if that's in a breakaway or something else, I really want to give it a shot and go for it,” he said.

EF Education-EasyPost CEO Jonathan Vaughters sees in Tobias a track record that confirms that the Austrian has proven versatility, as well as room to grow.

“Tobias is the kind of rider who can race a one-day or a grand tour with the same level of focus, freshness, and commitment. He’s shown that he is an incredibly devoted teammate who won’t hesitate to turn himself inside out for the cause. That said, we think he still has untapped potential and we are excited to see what he can do,” Vaughters said.

Over the years of training, racing, and sacrificing, Tobias has learned how to tough it out through challenging times and how to appreciate the joys that life can bring.

“Through cycling, I’ve learned to keep going, keep pushing. It’s not always nice and there will be hard times but to just keep pushing. Sometimes you have to go through the difficult times because that’s what makes the good times even better,” he said.

Tobias knows he’s one of the lucky ones who gets to live his dream every day, and that fuels him.

“Growing up and watching all this on TV, seeing also how it motivates friends and family around me, the atmosphere and everything, is just super cool to be a part of. I've had some really nice moments winning really big races and stages with my teammates while taking part in the biggest races in the world and making an impact. I really like this way of working really hard and getting the best out of myself. This is something that drives me,” Tobias said.

The Austrian rider is motivated to make the most of every opportunity that comes his way. As a teenager, he faced the choice of becoming a professional cyclist or studying to become an engineer. Tobias, long accustomed to grueling days and hard work, saw no reason not to do both.

“I wanted to do an engineering degree. It takes five years and it’s quite time demanding and it’s a bit difficult to combine with cycling but at one point I said, ok, I really want to give it a shot with cycling and see how far I can go. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll still have a nice job that really excites me,” he said.

Tobias knows every climb, lake, and road around Mondsee, his home these days and just 15 kilometers from where he grew up. In fact it was a local race –and some sibling rivalry– that first got 12-year-old Tobias interested in cycling.

“We had a mountain time trial around my home. My family were all competing in it, and then I also started. That made it kind of fun because I was trying to beat my brother.
 It took me a few years till I finally beat his best time and that just made it more fun,” Tobias laughed.

Welcome to the squad, Tobias!