After weighing up his future in cycling, Rolf Aldag has decided to move on to a new sport. The World Triathlon Corporation has today announced that he will take up the role of its managing director in Germany, thus ending his time with pro cycling.
The 43 year old German turned pro with the Helvetia team in 1991, beginning what was a fifteen year professional career with it and with Team Telekom/T-Mobile. He rode ten Tours de France, five editions of the Vuelta and one Giro d’Italia. He was primarily a team rider but also won stages in the Deutschland Tour, the Tour de Suisse, the Tour du Limousin and Bayern Rundfahrt, as well as being German road race champion in 2000 and taking overall success in the Bayern Rundfahrt and the Sparkassen-Giro Bochum.
After his career, he moved into team management with the T-Mobile team, retaining that position despite a 2007 confession for EPO use. He remained with the squad as it morphed into the High Road, Colombia and then HTC-Highroad teams, but was left with a big question mark about what to do next when Bob Stapleton announced the team would not continue.
Aldag was a respected manager with the HTC Highroad setup and is credited with helping the men’s and women’s squad take over 500 wins in recent years. He indicated recently that the huge time demands of that role led him to consider other options, and his past triathlon participation in the 2006 Ironman Lanzarote plus his general interest in that sport has led to a change in direction.
“I enjoy triathlon and seeing athletes overcome challenges,” he said today. “People want to test their limits, and Ironman allows them to do it under the best conditions. I am happy to become part of the WTC family and to help endurance athletes achieve their goals.”
His decision has been welcomed by World Triathlon Corporation CEO Andrew Messick, who himself has previous cycling connections through working with AEG Sports, the organisers of the Amgen Tour of California and other events.
Messick moved to the WTC earlier this year and believes Aldag will be a big addition. “Rolf is an exceptional addition to WTC's global management team,” he stated. “He has a lifetime of experience in the endurance sports world and has distinguished himself as a leader and manager. We are confident that under Rolf’s leadership, WTC will continue to grow in Germany and across Europe.”
The appointment should enable Aldag to spend more time with his family, a factor in his reluctance to commit to another cycling team in a similar role as to that with HTC Highroad.