Radsport#

Cycling: the first cycling races in Austria were organised by the Wiener Bicycle-Klub (established in 1882) in 1884. The first town-to-town race (Vienna - Graz - Trieste) took place in 1892. By the turn of the century cycling was very popular in Austria. In 1923 the Lower Austrian Cyclists' Association, the Austrian Touring Club for Cyclists, the Styrian Cyclists' Regional Association and the Cyclists' Association for Tirol and Vorarlberg united to form the Austrian Cyclists' Association. In 1946 the Austrian Cycling Commission (Oesterreichische Radsportkommission - OeRK) was founded, which was re-organised and named Austrian Cycling Association (Oesterreichischer Radsportverband - OeRV) in 1973; in 1994 the Association comprised 454 clubs with over 46,000 members.

During the 1930s the most successful Austrian racing cyclist was F. Dusika; after 1945 only few Austrian cyclists became successful professionals on an international scale (an exception being G. Zadrobilek, 3rd in the Tour de Suisse 1984, 14th in the Tour de France 1987). In addition to national, provincial and juniors championships there are also Austrian national tours, provincial tours and many races within towns and on mountain roads. Today cycling not only includes the traditional disciplines but also mountain biking and BMX cycling. Every year an international indoor track race takes place in the Prater Stadium (since 1984 "Ferry Dusika Hall") in Vienna. R. Koenigshofer is one of the most successful Austrian cyclists internationally, having won the world championship in motor-paced racing three times.