In 2013 he won the general classification of the Junior Bundesliga and was riding for Team Auto Eder, the junior team of Bora Hansgrohe. It seemed that the path to a blooming career was paved.
Oliver quickly made it to the national team. He finished 25th at the Road World Championships, rode a second faster than Mathieu van der Poel in the individual time trial at the Nations Cup and it wasn't long before he signed with a continental team. There, however, the atmosphere he had hoped for did not await him. Oliver therefore decided to study first and found his way back to racing with the criterium scene.
And now he wants to join a professional team again? For several years Oliver raced for Germany's most successful criterium team, RSC Kempten, and claimed numerous wins. However, that was not enough for him. In 2022, he therefore travelled to the Tour de Guadeloupe. At this hilly, ten-day stage race in the Caribbean, he finished in the top ten of the general classification. In the same year, he came third in the Oder-Tour in Germany and was the overall winner of the Race Days Stuttgart as well as becoming road champion of Baden-Württemberg. One thing is certain: Oliver is hungry and he is capable of even more.
At first glance, it seems rather unusual to join a professional team at the age of 27. Many continental teams voluntarily limit themselves to the under 23 level and athletes are quickly considered to have failed if they have not made it to the big stage of cycling by then. This creates a questionable negative pressure that is simply a pity for the sport. BIKE AID consciously wants to counter this idea. "Even though we have picked up some very young riders in 2023, we want to be a broad-based team. This enriches the team and also means better development opportunities for young athletes, as they are in constant exchange with experienced riders." Says Matthias Schnapka.
"At Tour de Guadeloupe I realised that I like to ride bigger races over several days and that I am able to perform there. With BIKE AID, I have an exciting race calendar coming up. In addition, I want to develop myself further in the world of cycling, get to know different countries and hope to achieve some more results with the team". Says Oliver Mattheis before the upcoming season.
