Bernhard Eisel (born 17 February 1981) is an Austrian former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2019 for the , , , and teams. Following his retirement, he worked as an analyst and presenter for

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

and the Global Cycling Network (GCN), before joining as a ''

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is s ...

'' in 2022.

Career

Born in

Voitsberg Voitsberg () is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in Styria, Austria, with a population of c. 9,700 . It grew upon the St. Margaret church at the Tregistbach river and was first mentioned in 1220 as Civitas. Remains of the Greisenegg p ...

, Eisel won his first race when he was 11 years old, since then he has won many races. When he was 17, he moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to race for the team Rinascita Ormelle, based in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. After that he moved to Gli Amici Piave, the team of Moreno Argentin. In 2001 he joined the team and became a professional cyclist, from 2003 on he joined . In 2007, Eisel changed to . Eisel enjoyed a successful first season with his main victory coming on Stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve. Eisel established himself as the right-hand man of sprinter and teammate Mark Cavendish, protecting him throughout the flats and mountain stages and forming part of the HTC lead out train that saw Cavendish take many notable victories in the Tour de France and other races. Eisel also had opportunities to ride for himself, mainly in the classics. He won Paris–Bourges in 2008 and

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the Tou ...

in 2010, and in 2011, Eisel recorded his best placing in a monument by finishing seventh in

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional road bicycle racing, bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling m ...

. Eisel was appointed as a member of the inaugural UCI Athletes' Commission in 2011. Following the announcement that would fold at the end of 2011, Eisel joined Mark Cavendish in moving to . After Cavendish announced he would cut his three-year deal with the team short to move to , Eisel announced he would stay with until the end of the 2015 season. On 28 September 2015, Sky announced that Eisel would be among the riders leaving the team at the end of the year, following four seasons with the team. The following day it was announced that he had joined Cavendish (and Mark Renshaw, their former teammate at HTC) in signing for – to be renamed as . On 14 January 2020 he announced his retirement from professional racing. Shortly afterwards he took up a role as a presenter, reporter and commentator for

and Global Cycling Network (GCN). In November 2021 announced that Eisel would join them as a ''directeur sportif'' from the 2022 season.

Major results

;1999 : 5th Road race,

UCI Junior Road World Championships UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer ...

;2002 : 1st Radclassic-Gleisdorf : 2nd Overall

Paris–Corrèze Paris–Corrèze was a road bicycle race held annually in France, usually between a department near Paris and the department of Corrèze. It was created by Laurent Fignon and Max Mamers. It was first held in 2001 and since 2005 it has been organi ...

: 4th Overall

GP Erik Breukink The GP Erik Breukink was a multi-day road cycling held annually in the Netherlands in 2002 and 2003. It is named after Erik Breukink Erik Breukink (born 1 April 1964) is a former Dutch professional road racing cyclist. In 1988, Breukink won ...

;2003 : 1st Stage 4

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 7th Overall

Circuit Franco-Belge Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circ ...

;2004 : 1st Stage 3 Criterium des Espoirs : 1st Bad Ischl : 5th

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tou ...

: 7th Overall

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was called Tour de l'Oise ...

;2005 : Volta ao Algarve ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Stages 1 & 4 : 1st Stage 1

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

: 2nd Overall

Grande Prémio Internacional Costa Azul Grande Prémio Internacional Costa Azul was a stage race, stage cycling race held annually in Portugal. It was part of UCI Europe Tour in category 2.1 from 2005 to 2006. Winners References

UCI Europe Tour races Cycle races in Portugal Rec ...

::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 4 ;2006 : 1st Stage 4 Tour of Qatar : 1st Stage 2 Volta ao Algarve : 1st Grazer Altstadt Kriterium : 1st Mayrhofen Europa-Kriterium : 2nd Overall Three Days of De Panne ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Stage 2a : 2nd Overall

UCI Europe Tour races Cycle races in Portugal Rec ...

: 5th

: 7th

;2007 : 1st Lancaster Classic : 1st Reading Classic : 1st Stage 2 Volta ao Algarve : 1st Linz criterium : 3rd Philadelphia International Championship : 4th Overall Tour of Qatar : 8th Trofeo Palma ;2008 : 1st Paris–Bourges : 1st Stage 5 Volta ao Algarve : 3rd Reading Classic : 4th Philadelphia International Championship : 6th

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

: 9th Lancaster Classic ;2009 : 1st Stage 2

: 1st Welser Sparkassen Innenstadt-Kriterium : 2nd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne : 3rd

Road race Road racing, road race of road racer may refer to: * Road racing in motorsport * Road running on foot * Road bicycle racing * ''Road Race'', initial name of 1976 arcade game ''Fonz'' (video game) * Roadracers (1994 film) * Roadracers (1959 fi ...

, National Road Championships : 9th

;2010 : 1st

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

: 7th Paris–Bourges : 8th

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...

: 9th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200&nbs ...

;2011 : 7th

: 7th

: 8th Overall Tour of Qatar ;2012 : 3rd

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 ki ...

;2013 : 5th Overall Tour of Qatar : 7th

: 10th

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is ...

;2014 : 3rd

, National Road Championships ;2017 : 1st Jersey red

Mountains classification

Arctic Race of Norway The Arctic Race of Norway is an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in northern Norway. The first edition was in 2013, from 8 August to 11 August, and lasted for four days. The organising partners are Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Arcti ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* *
Bernhard Eisel profile
at Team Sky {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisel, Bernhard 1981 births Living people Austrian male cyclists Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Austria Tour de Suisse stage winners People from Voitsberg Cycling announcers Directeur sportifs Sportspeople from Styria