Three-time mountain bike marathon world champion Mona Mitterwallner is set to race on the road for the next two years, driven by ambitious goals. The 22-year-old Austrian rider is joining the Human Powered Health team, where she will combine mountain bike and road through 2026.
Mitterwallner was the 17th and final rider for the 2025 roster for the team’s fourth season in the Women’s WorldTour. All but one of the riders and new team kit was unveiled earlier this month.
Mitterwallner’s palmares include five rainbow jerseys across junior, U23 and elite categories, four elite cross-country national wins, two elite XCO World Cup victories, two junior continental titles, and 45 career race wins. She finished 18th at the Paris Olympics.
And now, she’s looking at a new challenge, inspired in part by the success of Puck Pieterse [Fenix-Deceuninck], a Tour de France stage winner. Mitterwallner has finished runner-up to Pieterse in the past two MTB European Championships.
“I want to become the best cyclist in the world so I’ve always said road racing is part of my future,” Mitterwallner stated in a team release. “It was always on my radar and now after the Olympics, I wanted to try something new. I wanted to get out of my old routine and see if I could improve as a rider.”
“I wanted a new challenge and to develop myself,” she noted. “I love climbing. In MTB you’re climbing for two or three minutes but in road racing you do it for over an hour. That’s something I want to try and I think I will be good at.”
Mitterwallner’s last foray on the road was an 11th-place finish in the U23 European road race won by her new teammate Silvia Zanardi.
“I’m looking forward to stage races,” she explains. “I’m good at doing repeated efforts day after day and in MTB you don’t get that so much. Racing full gas over a week is exciting. I want to see if I can recover as quickly as I think I can for racing the next day.”
Mitterwallner joined her new team at a training camp in December.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mona Mitterwallner to our team for her debut season in professional road cycling,” Ro De Jonckere, General Manager, said. “Mona’s impressive achievements in mountain biking showcase her exceptional talent and determination.”
The team took notice of her impressive range of skills.
“Her ability to excel in one of the most demanding disciplines of cycling at her young age is a testament to her strength and resilience,” De Jonckere added. “We are excited to support her as she transitions to the road, and we are confident her winning mentality and versatility will make her a formidable presence in the peloton.”
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