Patrick Konrad - "I want to be a guy who is a role-model for young cyclists"

This week I spoke to young Austrian cyclist Patrick Konrad. You might not have heard of him yet but you'll be hearing a lot more of him in the next few years. Bora-Argon 18 have a wildcard for the Tour this year and Patrick wants to be with them in Utrecht. Looking at his form so far, it's hard to argue against him. We talk about his amateur career, racing on the Madeleine and the future of Austrian cycling.

Patrick's time trialling ability marks him out as
one to watch in the future.

BikeRouteHub: You're halfway through your first full season as a pro. The highlights so far have been 10th overall in the Tour of Oman and 13th overall in the Criterium International. How do you think the season as gone?
Patrick Konrad: The start of the season was quite good. I made a good start in Oman and the Criterium International and I feel really good and the winter training has been worthwhile. I'm really happy with the team and everything is working.

BRH: You've been riding for team mates a lot this season but you've also had your own chances. How happy have you been with your role at the team?
PK: I'm really happy. I can do my own thing because normally as a neo-pro you have to do a lot of work. But of course I have to ride for my team mates but when I am in shape and when I feel really strong and good then I get to take my own chances. I think I've had enough chances to show my talent.

BRH: You had an incredibly successful youth career coming 9th and 3rd in the Tour de l'Avenir and 10th in the U23 World Championships. How much confidence have you taken from those results?
PK: I was really happy with 10th in the World Championships. Straight afterwards I was pretty angry because I saw the chance to get a better result but that's how cycling works, there are 200 or 120 riders who all want to win, but I was pleased with the result. I also had a really good season last year with the Tour of Austria (4th overall) and winning my first stage race (The Oberösterreichrundfahrt) but now I'm really happy that I'm a pro and I get the chance to show my talent in a professional peloton and a professional team.

BRH: Can you tell us a bit about the Oberösterreichrundfahrt?
PK: It's a really hard race with a lot of climbing, which is normal for Austria, we have the mountains! It was a really really important race for my team for last season because it was the home race so it was really important to get a good result and the team told me they wanted to win it. When I did a good race in the Tour of Austria and then won there I could tell that I was in form and everything was working which was really really nice for me.

BRH: In the 2013 Tour l'Avenir you came 2nd on the stage to Stade Francois Longchamp on the Madeleine. I've ridden the Col du Madeleine and thought it was the hardest climb I've ever done, how did it rank for you?
PK: It is a really really long climb, I remember it well. One of the Yates brothers (Adam) was with me there. On the stage I felt really good and I saw that it was a really important day for the GC so I was happy to be second but unfortunately a Spanish guy (Ruben Fernandez) attacked and nobody really knew that he was so strong and we didn't catch him again. He attacked on the bottom of the climb and we couldn't catch him which was stupid. The climbs in France are really nice though and the Tour l'Avenir was my favourite race as an U23, I raced it three times and always got good results.

BRH: You said earlier in the season that you hoped to get a ride in the Tour de France, have you had this confirmed?

Konrad racing in the white jersey in the Tour of Oman

PK: I don't know yet. I had a rest for the whole of May to prepare for the rest of the season so we will see. They will tell me in the next two weeks who will go to the Tour de France. Everybody is in training camps and altitude camps and I spent the last few weeks there but now I have some races. This week I am going to Switzerland to the GP Argovie and then I will go to the ZLM Tour and then I will go to the National Championships. I hope I get a place at the Tour but I don't know yet.

BRH: Why do you think it is that cycling isn't as big in Austria as it is in Switzerland or Italy?
PK: Yeah, that's true. Cycling is getting popular again, we had some troubles a few years ago with Bernhard Kohl and they stopped showing cycling on the TV. But cycling as a hobby is popular and it is getting bigger and bigger. Also the TV and the newspapers are more focused on cycling in the summer which is really nice. But, all in all we are a winter sports nation so it's not possible for cycling to get as popular as skiing or snow jumping or football even.

BRH: Do you think cycling will continue to improve in Austria?
PK: Now we have a lot of good young Austrian riders also the weekend before last we had a really strong weekend for Austrian cycling. Haller won the Tour des Fjords and Gregor Mühlberger won the U23 Course de la Paix, he raced with me last year with Net App. Five years ago there was a big change in Austrian cycling when the continental teams put the focus on the really young riders and try to grow them up and create future talent. I was one of the guys from the first generation and now you see the results of these teams and also the U23 national team and that's really really nice to see.

BRH: If I were to interview you again in five years Patrick, what would you have liked to achieve in that time?

Will Bora-Argon 18 throw the Austrian into the Tour this year?
He certainly hopes so!

PK: I want to have a few grand tours in my legs, a few successful tours. I want to be a guy who is a role-model for young cyclists and I also want to be successful. I know that I am really strong in GC riding but this year I did Liege-Bastogne-Liege and for me it was a really really nice race. There was a crash with 40km to go which destroyed the chances of a better result but at the finish I was really excited about that race. I like the shorter climbs like in the Ardennes but I also like the long, hard, steep climbs like at the Giro, Tour and Vuelta.

BRH: I like to think of this blog as the go to place for cycling nerds, so I always like to end my interviews with a quiz to see how much of a cycling nerd you are. Are you a cycling nerd?
PK: Ermmm, yeah, a little bit. I also have a life but all the time my head is filled with cycling. I think you need to have distance from cycling when you're at home though.

It looks like this quiz might be one of the few times anyone
beats Patrick for a while....

BRH: At the Giro del Trentino TTT you rode alongside two guys who came 1st and 4th in the 2010 Vuelta a Catalunya prologue, can you name them?
PK: Paul Voss, I think he won it? And fourth was maybe...Dominik Nerz? (1-0 Patrick)

BRH: Who is the current National champion of the Netherlands?
PK: Johnny Hoogerland won it in 2013. He rides for Garmin, I know it but I don't know his name now...no I don't know it. (1-1 It is Sebastian Langeveld)

BRH: Who won the points jersey in the 2015 Giro d'Italia?
PK: A guy from Trek Factory Racing, an Italian one. But his name is.......ermm...today I saw a picture but I don't know it. (1-2 It is Giacomo Nizzolo, BRH wins again!) Ahh of course Nizzolo!

BRH: Thank you very much for you time
PK: Ciao!