| Bernhard Eisel | |
| Fullname: | Bernhard Eisel |
| Nickname: | Bernie |
| Birth Date: | 1981 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Voitsberg, Austria |
| Height: | 1.830NaN0 |
| Weight: | 78kg (172lb) |
| Currentteam: | Retired |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Ridertype: | Classics specialist Road captain |
| Amateuryears1: | - |
| Amateurteam1: | Rinascita Ormelle |
| Amateuryears2: | - |
| Amateurteam2: | Gli Amici Piave |
| Proyears1: | 2001–2002 |
| Proyears2: | 2003–2006 |
| Proyears3: | 2007–2011 |
| Proyears4: | 2012–2015 |
| Proteam4: | [1] [2] |
| Proyears5: | 2016–2019 |
| Proteam5: | [3] |
| Majorwins: | Grand Tours
1 TTT stage (2010)One-day races and Classics Paris–Bourges (2008) |
Bernhard Eisel (born 17 February 1981) is an Austrian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2019 for the,,, and teams. Following his retirement, he worked as an analyst and presenter for Eurosport and the Global Cycling Network (GCN),[4] before joining as a directeur sportif in 2022.
Born in Voitsberg, Eisel won his first race when he was 11 years old, since then he has won many races. When he was 17, he moved to Italy to race for the team Rinascita Ormelle, based in Treviso. After that he moved to Gli Amici Piave, the team of Moreno Argentin. In 2001 he joined the team and became a professional cyclist, from 2003 on he joined .
In 2007, Eisel changed to . Eisel enjoyed a successful first season with his main victory coming on Stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve. Eisel established himself as the right-hand man of sprinter and teammate Mark Cavendish, protecting him throughout the flats and mountain stages[5] and forming part of the HTC lead out train that saw Cavendish take many notable victories in the Tour de France and other races. Eisel also had opportunities to ride for himself, mainly in the classics. He won Paris–Bourges in 2008 and Gent–Wevelgem in 2010, and in 2011, Eisel recorded his best placing in a monument by finishing seventh in Paris–Roubaix. Eisel was appointed as a member of the inaugural UCI Athletes' Commission in 2011.[6]
Following the announcement that would fold at the end of 2011, Eisel joined Mark Cavendish in moving to .[1] After Cavendish announced he would cut his three-year deal with the team short to move to, Eisel announced he would stay with until the end of the 2015 season.[7]
On 28 September 2015, Sky announced that Eisel would be among the riders leaving the team at the end of the year, following four seasons with the team.[8] The following day it was announced that he had joined Cavendish (and Mark Renshaw, their former teammate at HTC) in signing for – to be renamed as .[9]
On 14 January 2020 he announced his retirement from professional racing. Shortly afterwards he took up a role as a presenter, reporter and commentator for Eurosport and Global Cycling Network (GCN).[4] [10] In November 2021 announced that Eisel would join them as a directeur sportif from the 2022 season.[11]
| Grand Tour | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 152 | — | 138 | 143 | — | — | |
| Tour de France | — | 131 | 143 | 107 | 121 | 144 | 150 | 155 | 160 | 146 | — | 126 | — | 171 | 153 | |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Monument | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | 12 | DNF | DNF | 23 | 34 | 107 | DNF | 44 | 47 | DNF | 10 | 65 | DNF | — | 185 | — | 128 | |
| Tour of Flanders | 14 | 103 | 13 | 15 | 86 | 11 | 72 | 16 | 14 | 54 | DNF | 60 | 99 | DNF | 104 | — | 117 | |
| Paris–Roubaix | 22 | 35 | 49 | 5 | 65 | 17 | 47 | 38 | 7 | 86 | 12 | 13 | 71 | 44 | 36 | — | 66 | |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Did not contest during career | |||||||||||||||||
| Giro di Lombardia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classic | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 18 | — | — | — | — | 132 | 121 | 8 | 95 | 23 | 64 | 81 | 71 | — | — | DNF | — | |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | DNF | 35 | — | — | DNF | DNF | 2 | — | — | 113 | — | 45 | 83 | — | — | DNF | — | |
| E3 Saxo Bank Classic | 35 | — | 16 | 64 | 73 | 6 | 11 | — | — | 3 | 36 | 54 | 86 | — | DNF | — | DNF | |
| Gent–Wevelgem | DNF | DNF | DNF | 7 | 26 | 160 | DNF | 1 | 7 | 129 | 7 | 24 | DNF | — | 76 | — | DNF | |
| Scheldeprijs | — | 5 | — | — | 51 | — | 9 | 85 | 141 | 62 | 119 | 109 | 13 | 121 | 40 | — | — | |
| Paris–Tours | 55 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 44 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | 106 | DNF | DNF |
| — | Did not compete | |
|---|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |