WM - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1987 - 5 Shilling

The Austrian tradition in the cycling sector dates back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1881 the "Wiener Bicycle Club" was founded. One year later, the "Graz Bicycle Club" was born. There were already three racetracks in 1885 in Vienna, Graz and Micheldorf. A great success was the victory in all three Olympic cycling competitions at the first games in Athens in 1896 on Steyr weapon wheels. Track races, road and hill sports became more popular. Also much attention was paid to distance rides, such as Vienna-Trieste or Vienna-Berlin. In 1898 there was a highlight, the World Championships on the Praterbahn in Vienna. At the turn of the century, there were already 250 cycling clubs in Vienna. In the inter-war period, after separating into a bourgeois and a workers' sports federation, two powerful organizations sought to organize interesting cycling events. On the track there were two exceptions, Ferry Dusika and August Schaffer (Dusika 1932 World Cup third in the sprint on the track). After World War II, in 1947 they ventured back to major events. In 1949, on the initiative of Franz Hamedl, the premiere of the "Austrian Tour of Amateurs" took place. After decades, Roland Königshofer was able to win world championship medals again. In 1985 he won silver and a year later bronze in the competition. Another highlight was the WRC 1987 Villach -Vienna.