Heinz Hechenberger

Heinz Hechenberger was born on 9 February 1963 in Radstadt, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. He took up road racing as a young man and rode for the ARBÖ Salzburg club, later making his home in Neumarkt am Wallersee.

Hechenberger was an amateur road racer who belonged to the Austrian national squad and Olympic squad. His early wins included the overall classification of the Csepel Cup in 1986 and, in 1987, the overall title and a stage at the stage race in Aflenz and a stage of the Tour of Martinique. He was eighth overall in the Tour of Styria in 1987 and fifth in 1988.

In 1988 he took silver in the Austrian team time trial championship with Ekkehard Dörschlag, Herbert Meneweger and Manfred Kornelson, and was ninth in the national time trial. He finished fourth in the national road race in 1989.

His greatest success came in 1990, when he won the Austrian national road race championship. That season he also won a stage of the Tour of Algeria and finished third on the seventh stage of the Tour of Austria. He also raced in stage races in Germany.

Hechenberger made cycling his profession after racing. He entered the cycling travel industry in 1995 and in 2004 founded SunBike Radreisen und Events in Neumarkt am Wallersee, which organised guided and self-guided cycling holidays in the Salzburg lake district, the Salzkammergut, Provence and the Balearic Islands. In 2017 the company opened its own e-bike rental on Mallorca.

He kept close ties to Austrian racing. At the 2016 national road championships, held in his home town of Neumarkt am Wallersee, he was a guest of honour and presented congratulations on the podium.

Heinz Hechenberger died on 27 October 2026 in Neumarkt am Wallersee, aged 63, after a long and serious illness. The specific cause was not made public. His death was announced in a death notice and by the Landesradsportverband Salzburg, which honoured his sporting achievements and his life devoted to cycling.

A viewing was held on 2 November 2026 at the chapel of rest in Neumarkt, followed by a rosary in the town parish church. His requiem Mass and urn burial were set for 3 November 2026 at 3 p.m. at the Stadtpfarrkirche Neumarkt. His family asked mourners to give to the Austrian Cancer Aid in Salzburg instead of sending wreaths and flowers.

Hechenberger's 1990 national road title secured his place in the history of Austrian and Salzburg cycling. Through SunBike he introduced many holiday riders to cycling in the region where he had raced, keeping the sport at the centre of his life long after his competitive career ended.