From Monday in the race week Tobias Eigelsreiter is fully in action. Together with his father Markus and his brother-in-law Michael he runs the tent rental company Eigelsreiter. The three-man team tours all over Austria with their employees. This time the place of action is practically on their doorstep, the Olympic Centre in St. Pölten. From Monday to Saturday he lays floors, sets up tents and secures everything. In between, he jumps into the lake or squeezes in a cycling training session. After all, Tobias is not only on the road a lot at work. In his free time, the 26-year-old is dedicated to triathlon and has found his passion.
Until three years ago, he watched the action from the spectator stands. The atmosphere gave him goose bumps every year. “I always sat in the stands and the atmosphere gave me a lift. The music, the moderation and the athletes’ performances. Those were real goosebump moments for me,” Tobi says. His sport at that time was football, to which he very successfully dedicated his free time. In the first lockdown in 2020, he hung up his football boots and started running. His brother-in-law and best friend Michael wrote him training plans and the two completed many runs together. In the summer, he started swimming on his own, watched YouTube videos and jumped into Lake Ratzersdorf. Then, in August 2020, the time had come. Tobi stood on the starting line for his first triathlon. The result was secondary. Because his enthusiasm for the sport was unbroken from that moment on.
Steep development and big dreams
From the very beginning, the athlete living in St. Georgen (near St. Pölten) had big dreams. He contacted a coach and started working on all three sports together with Massimo Köstl-Lenz. In 2021, he made his debut in the middle distance in St. Pölten and finally qualified for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St. George (USA) in autumn. A big dream came true for Tobias, but he has already set himself many more goals. “This is probably what almost every triathlete says, but at some point I would like to compete in Hawaii,” he says with a laugh. “But next year I will make my long-distance debut in Roth and then we’ll see.” For Tobias, training is a way to balance out his stressful and physically demanding workday. He can come down and sort out his thoughts. The communication with his trainer is very close. Since the tent rental company Eigelsreiter is a family business, there is also a lot of understanding from his dad. “I work a lot, but I can manage it well,” he says. “Even when we are on the road, there is always a possibility to fit in the training”.
Like the last few years, Tobi will be doing the complete set-up at the venue and then be at the start on Sunday. “Only Saturday, I’m taking the day off,” he smiles. The race is very important to him. He knows the volunteers, the entire team and his whole family, including his girlfriend Mona, will be at the course cheering him on.
