Francaise des Jeux rider Bernhard Eisel, who moves to T-Mobile as of next year, has been elected Austrian cyclist of the year by the Austrian cycling federation. The so-called Gestetner Trophy was awarded to Eisel on Friday. Fellow Austrians Bernhard Kohl and René Haselbacher got second and third respectively. Haselbacher had earned the honour in 1998.
Eisel won stages at the Tour of Qatar, the Volta ao Algarve and the Driedaagse van De Panne this year. He also placed fifth in Paris-Roubaix, eleventh at the World Championships in Salzburg and achieved seven top ten placings at the Tour de France.
