Volksbank signs two

By Susan Westemeyer

Team Volksbank announced two new signings for the coming season, Gerhard Trampusch and Rene Weissinger. "Both fit in well with us," said Team Manager Thomas Koffler. "Trampusch is a complete rider and a guarantee for good results in stage races, as he has already shown at Wiesenhof and Acqua & Sapone. Rene can be a Classics rider, he's a fast sprinter."

Both riders signed one-year contracts with the Austrian Professional Continental Team. Trampusch, 28, won the mountain time trial on the Kitzbühler Horn in the Tour of Austria (Hervis Tour) in 2005. This season he won a stage in the Bayern Rundfahrt and finished 15th overall, and seventh in the Tour of Austria. "The team, the environment and the mood at Volksbank are ideal," the Austrian said.

Weissinger previously rode for Volksbank from 2003 to 2005, before leaving for a year at Skil-Shimano.