The Radkompetenz Österreich platform was founded in 2014 and has been coordinated by Alec Hager ever since. After twelve years of dedicated development work, he is handing over this role to Climate Alliance Upper Austria, which has extensive experience in promoting cycling. Irene Wögerer from Climate Alliance took over the coordination role at the beginning of 2026. The handover was preceded by a unanimous decision by the members’ assembly, which is looking forward to many more active years for Radkompetenz under the new platform coordination.

The founding of Radkompetenz Österreich

The success story of Radkompetenz Österreich began with a networking workshop in 2013, inspired by the international examples of the Cycling Embassies in Denmark and the Netherlands. With the founding of the platform in 2014, a small group of innovative companies and institutions from the Austrian cycling sector laid the foundation for an initiative aimed at improving cycling through knowledge transfer and expertise. Since then, the platform has grown continuously: in recent years, not only has the number of members increased significantly, but its role as a central knowledge and networking hub for cycling in Austria has also been firmly established under the coordination of Alec Hager.

Ministerial congratulations on the platform’s tenth anniversary from Climate Action Minister Leonore Gewessler at the 2024 Cycling Summit in Wiener Neustadt.

Increased visibility and improved cycling conditions in Austria

Over the years, Radkompetenz Österreich has developed a broad range of services and activities that make a significant contribution to the visibility and further development of cycling in Austria. The newsletter and website have become central sources of information on projects, transport policy developments, research, planning and product innovations – complemented by an international best-practice perspective. The knowledge database has created a strong tool for know-how transfer, while the online academy emerged from the successful webinar series launched as part of the digital Online Cycling Summit in 2021 and now comprises a growing archive of more than 25 expert presentations.

A strong network of cycling-sector stakeholders

With more than 30 members, Radkompetenz Österreich has established itself as a productive network within Austria’s cycling ecosystem. Its members range from companies and research institutions to public-sector bodies:

To strengthen networking and visibility, joint appearances have been organised at key industry events such as the Austrian Cycling Summit, the international Velo-city conference and the Austrian Municipalities Day.

One highlight is the annual “Radkompetenz Fireside Chat”, where current key topics are discussed among experts – most recently, for example, the amendment to the Austrian Road Traffic Regulations (2025), developments in cycling research (2024, image above) and challenges relating to company bike leasing (2023). This tradition will continue this year with the open format of the “Radkompetenz Forum” – more information coming soon!

We would like to thank Alec Hager and his Radvokat:innen team for their successful development work and wish him a smooth ride for his upcoming sabbatical and the future ahead!

Photos: Klimabündnis OÖ, Cajetan Perwein (BMK), Simon Haigermoser (PLUS)