René Haselbacher — Tour de France sprinter turned Cape Town kit maker and Double Century winner.

At 21, René Haselbacher lined up at Paris-Roubaix on 23mm tyres, with no idea what cobblestones could do to a body. Four years later he was chasing Mario Cipollini's wheel at the Giro d'Italia, finishing third on two stages. Then came the Tour de France — the prologue ramp under the Eiffel Tower, a breakaway that nearly went all the way, two big crashes, and a snapped handlebar nobody in the press wanted to believe. By the time he signed with Astana and rode alongside Alberto Contador, René had done 14 years as a professional cyclist and seen the whole arc of an era. Then he stopped, at 31, almost overnight.

This conversation covers a lot of ground. The physical brutality of sprint positioning, what it was actually like riding in the Lance Armstrong era, watching Mark Cavendish through the ups and downs and then seeing him win his final stage, and what RH77 would need to kit out a Tour de France team. René speaks like a man who has made peace with every crash and every near-miss — warm, honest, and still very much racing. His son is on the start line this Sunday. So is he.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — René Haselbacher Joins Active Hobo: DC Winner, RH77 Founder, Tour de France Sprinter

2:27 — Vienna, a Cycling Father, and Making Austria's Under-23 National Team

4:28 — First Pro Race: Standing at Paris-Roubaix at 21 Years Old

5:04 — Giro d'Italia: Racing Three Weeks and Sprinting Against Mario Cipollini

13:03 — The Mental Game: Discipline, Self-Belief, and What Ronaldo Gets Right

21:02 — Tour de France Debut: The Prologue Ramp Under the Eiffel Tower

25:36 — Two Big Crashes, a Broken Handlebar, and the Media Story That Got Away

36:47 — Greatest Sprinters of All Time: Cipollini, Cavendish, and Being There for Both

47:03 — The Lance Armstrong Era: An Honest Conversation About Doping and Its Legacy

53:19 — Worlds in Salzburg, Riding for Astana With Contador, and Retiring at 31

59:52 — Why RH77 Exists: A Rain Bag, an Austrian Championship, and a Factory in Italy