All eyes are on Visma | Lease a Bike and their transfer market endeavours, however the Dutch team continues to work in the background, without a big star signing on the horizon that would make the headlines. After Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck) or Davide Piganzoli (Polti VisitMalta) who are all expected to stengthen the ranks of Visma in 2026, the next name on the list seems to be German rider Anton Schiffer.’Who?’ you may ask. Understandably so. If you follow mostly the biggest races in the world, the 25-year-old rider of continental team Bike Aid may have slipped your attention. But it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate the former traithlete.
Schiffer switched to road part-time in 2023, but he only truly gained attention as a finalist of the Alpecin-Deceuninck backed Zwift Academy where ultimately his younger compatriot Louis Kitzki was picked up by the project over Schiffer.
But the native of Cologne did not give up on his goal of turning professional and continued to pursue that dream with Germany-based continental team Bike Aid – a team known for its ties to African cycling and its promotion.
While 2024 season was an adaptation period for Schiffer, he scored a handful of decent results such as a top-10 at Tour of Antalya (2.1) or victory in mountain competition at Tour of Hellas (2.1). Though those results were but a drop in the ocean compared to the break out that would come this year.
The German climber took of with a second overall at the Greek stage race in April to follow it up with strong performances in France. The real ‘wow’ moment would come in summer though. Schiffer first finished on a podium of National Championships in competition of professional, beating riders such as Nils Politt, Emmanuel Buchmann or Max Schachmann. And in July, it finally happened.
Sibiu Tour will be remembered by Schiffer for the rest of his career as the venue of his first big victory. During the queen stage, Schiffer had to deal with mechanical problems which cost him a better result in GC, but the following day (with another mountain finish) Schiffer gave it his all and ultimately outclimbed everyone, including seasoned climbers Matthew Riccitello and David De La Cruz.
Schiffer has yet to race the biggest races in the world, but it’s clear that his numbers are more than decent for a continental-level rider and as a team with close ties to Germany, Visma | Lease a Bike seem to be a natural path for the 25-year-old talent.