Sepp Hellensteiner

Austrian cyclist Sepp Hellensteiner qualified for the 1912 Olympics when he won the selection competition held on a street track between Purkersdorf-Rekawinkel-St. Pölten-Sieghartskirchen-Purkersdorf (3 laps, total 291 km) in a time of 10-48:43.4 on 2 June 1912. At the Games he finished seventh with the road race team and 45th individually among 120 competitors.

Hellensteiner turned professional in 1913 but his career ended with the beginning of World War I. He then regained his amateur status and competed at the 1923 World Championships, eventually retiring in 1933.

Besides cycling, Hellensteiner was a very good Alpine skier. He learned the so-called “Norwegian technique” and became a skiing instructor at Tirol, Schliersee, Kufstein, and finally Kitzbühel. He also won several regional competitions.

Hellensteiner was born to an unmarried mother and was adopted by the sisters Trixl at Wiesenstall. He then ran the Wiesenstall mountain farm with his life partner Veronika Landegg for decades.