Four triathletes want to win a race across America

Beginning June 15, 2024, the Fluoro Racing Team will tackle a 4,900-kilometer race across America from the West Coast to the East Coast. After comfortably winning the Race Across Austria last year, the four Upper Austrians now face the toughest cycling race in the world, the Race Across America. But Peter Brandenburger, 53, an engineer from Voglabrück, Bernhard Kohl, 42, a hairdresser from Neuhofen an der Krems, Adi Stöger, 37, an IT team leader, and Florian Werner, 43, an employee and entrepreneur from Gmunden, do not. .

Like the Race Around Austria, the Upper Austrians of America rely on the distinctive wooden bicycles of “My Essel”. Florian Werner, Adi Stöger, Bernhard Kohl and Peter Brandenburger and the entire team are certainly well prepared, with every race mule specially developed for the races and a time trial mule. Floro Racing Team has a strong and truly unique bike supplier in the Upper Austrian bike manufacturer “My Esel”. So the “donkeys” from Troun rely on wheels, not only in their design, but above all with a frame made of lightweight composite wood.

The Fluoro Racing team believes there is room to make good progress with their wooden frames, especially over longer distances. “Especially in the Arizona desert we should feel the benefits of my Ezel wood frame for a long time. The cushioning properties of wood keep us from getting tired and restless. Thanks to the stiffness and proper setup, you can push forward again and againFlorian Werner appreciates wood as a legal object. In any case, this is a first, as a wooden frame has never been seen in this legendary race. “We are particularly pleased to have the Floro Racing Team participate in these races on our bikes, especially as we can show that wood composite frames can withstand the toughest conditions. For us, this is a great opportunity to see “Donkeys” internationally“My Donkey” co-founder, Christoph Frankfurter, speaks enthusiastically about “riding” his donkeys internationally.

Now the four athletes and a support group of 17 people led by Daniela Cole will travel to Las Vegas on June 8 to practice. On June 15th at 12 noon (California, USA) the starting signal for the famous race across America will be given at Oceanside towards Atlantic City. Four drivers are divided into two teams. Each team will run a division at different times according to each team member's strengths. While one team drives, the other team rests and drives to the next transition point. “It's a race that will definitely push us to our limits. An adventure we will remember forever, but one that will radically change all the drivers and crew,” said Florian Werner about the upcoming challenge.

Key voices on Fluoro and RAAM

Wolfgang Fasching (super athlete and three-time RAAM winner): “Even though I suffered from RAAM, I am happy to be back after a long time, but this time as a supervisor for the first time. It's a completely new role, especially in a group that drives completely differently than solos. I've gotten to know Floros well over the past two years, so I have a lot of faith in them. I'm really looking forward to the adventure that takes the four of them to America. I know from my own experience that a race like this needs a good team around the athletes. I myself have benefited from supporters for decades, and now that role has been reversed – it will be very exciting.

Christoph Strasser (super athlete and six-time RAAM winner): “I wish the Floro Racing team all the best and success for the biggest challenge through America! They already have a lot of experience from racing around Austria and will benefit from it. We know each other from the relay at the Ironman in Klagenfurt in 2016. , then I know how meticulously Florian Werner's team prepares for events like this and leave nothing to chance in terms of organization. I'm sure they'll be very strong at RAAM and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll put in a lot of effort and cross the finish line with a loud “Jawui”. will reach