The most recent proof of this was his sixth place at the Eschborn-Frankfurt. In the victory of the Dane Sören Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), the Allgäuer celebrated the best result on the World Tour in his still young career. He was also one of the most aggressive riders of the day. Steinhauser already went on the offensive on the second crossing of the Feldberg and made sure that the leading group around Max Walscheid (Cofidis) was placed.
When the Swiss Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) attacked on the Mammolshainer Stich, the last climb of the race, Steinhauser was there again. "I wouldn't have taken the initiative myself, but after Hirschi rode, thank God I was able to ride with him. Then the group was in place and it was all or nothing," he told Cycling Magazine at the finish. The group harmonised well and made it to the finish a few seconds ahead of the field. The young German also played his part in this.
Georg Steinhauser: Leading group? "That's already mega"
"It was pretty tough for me at the end, which you could also see in the sprint," said Steinhauser, who prefers profiled terrain anyway, describing his heavy legs in the final metres. And yet he still enjoyed the race. "I came third once as a junior, that was really cool. And now to finish in the first group of the pros is mega."
And it was not the first time that Georg Steinhauser in his second season as a professional for the team EF Education EasyPost which should confirm manager Vaughters' statement from October 2021. At the Tour of the Alps in mid-April, Steinhauser rode on the last stage behind his team-mate Simon Carr in second place. Team tactics may have prevented his first victory as a professional, as he said his legs would have given him more. But closing the gap to Carr with the competition on his rear wheel was not an option.
What does Steinhauser take away from his recent successes? Self-confidence. "I can trust myself more now," he told Cycling Magazine. This should give his performances even more impetus in the future. What's more, for the first time in a season, he can focus fully on cycling.
Metalworker apprenticeship finished: Full focus on the bike
Last year, Steinhauser completed an apprenticeship as a metalworker alongside his training. In the family business in his home town of Scheidegg. His father Tobias, Managing Director and once a professional cyclist himself with Mapei, Gerolsteiner and T-Mobile, among others, had insisted on this. "I work every day from 7 am to 12.30 pm. I'm on my bike in the afternoon. It's a bit stressful," said the son at the time when he signed his contract with EF Education.
However, this is no longer the case for Steinhauser, who previously rode for the Austrian continental team Tirol KTM Cycling and finished second in the Tour of Bulgaria, 16th in the Tour de l'Avenir - the Tour de France for young riders - and third in the U23 race of the Tour of Lombardy.
The next race on Steinhauser's schedule is the Tour of Norway at the end of May. A prologue - eighth place in the opening time trial of last year's Tour de Romandie proves that he can also be successful in the short distance against the clock - and three partly hilly stages should suit him just as well as Eschborn-Frankfurt, for example.
