EF Education-EasyPost have finally begun sharing their signings and after Luke Lamperti and Michael Leonard, the American team has confirmed the signing of another top talent who raced for the UAE Team Emirates – XRG development team: Matthias Schwarzbacher.
“Matthias can really impress in those short time trials, but he’s also a super versatile rider. He’s extremely strong on the flats and is a very effective sprinter, and he was already on my radar before he won at the Giro this year,” team CEO Jonathan Vaughters said in a press release.
“The result in the national time trial championships was outstanding, and he beat some top-level WorldTour riders. He was also sixth in U23 Paris-Roubaix despite some serious bad luck, so I can see him as being both an invaluable lead-out rider, an incredible time trialist, but also having this dream of competing in those Paris-Roubaix or Gent-Wevelgem style of races. That’s not going to happen immediately, of course, but he’s got that short five-minute power that’s irreplaceable”. It is a surprise signing, the Slovakian didn’t find a spot in the elite team with the immense amount of stars and talent there, but his quality hasn’t gone unrecognized.
“Until this year, I would have described myself as a punchy rider, and maybe even someone with a strong sprint, but this season I’ve performed well in the time trials, too,” the 19-year old said. “That’s been a bit of a surprise for me, but I still think that I can perform on various terrains. The entire season has been a welcome surprise for me, particularly in terms of my development. I didn’t expect such a good year, considering I was sick a lot last year. I was hoping for some good results this year, but I wasn’t expecting to make such a big step”.
With the elite team he immediately showed this season at the Challenge Mallorca to have the legs to compete in the World Tour already, finishing in the Top10 of the Trofeo Ses Salines. He wo the UMAG Classic in Croatia, finished sixth at the under-23 Paris-Roubaix, won the opening prologue of the under-23 Giro d’Italia which he then led for a day and won the Slovakian elite time trial championships.
“For me, the highlight of the year was my Giro stage win. I went into that race with good form, but I’d not done any big trials all season. I’d done a few prologues, but that was it. I knew that I could do well, but I never had it in my mind that I could beat some of the best time trialists in the U23 peloton,” he admits. “It was an amazing win, and one that gave me huge confidence”.
EF wasn’t an expected destination for the central European rider, but for him it’s a good fit. “When it came to joining the team, I was drawn to EF Education-EasyPost’s style and how they present themselves on social media. The jersey looks cool, and the videos look really great. That made a really good first impression for me, and from there, I had a really good conversation with Jonathan Vaughters about my development and how, in the future, I could target races like Paris-Roubaix. I don’t know anyone on the team yet, but I’m really looking forward to joining my new teammates”.
“I think that next year is going to be a bit like a big school year for me. I’ll need to learn and adapt to the WorldTour,” Schwarzbacher, now on a two-year deal, concluded. “I’ve done some big races already, but tackling a whole calendar like that will be a different story. It’s going to be a big year of learning and developing as a rider”.