Mathias Frank
Mathias Frank (born 9 December 1986) is a Swiss former road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He is considered as a strong climber, having finished 8th overall in the 2015 Tour de France, and winning a breakaway stage in the 2016 Vuelta a España. In May 2021, Frank announced that he would retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2021 season. Professional career. 2008–2013. Mathias Frank started his professional cycling career with German outfit . He won his first ever professional win at the GP Triberg-Schwarzwald. However the German team folded after the  season which meant Frank had to look elsewhere to continue his cycling career. It ended with a switch to . He raced for the BMC Team for 5 years, and won 3 races with BMC, and great results at the Tour de Suisse. IAM Cycling (2014–2016). In 2013 a new Swiss professional continental cycling team was created, and Frank moved to for the 2014 season. He raced with the team for 3 years until it closed at the end of 2016. Frank finished 2nd overall at Tour de Suisse and 4th overall at Tour de Romandie in 2014. The following year  2015, Frank focused on racing the Tour de France general classification. He entered the breakaway on Stage 17 and finished 5th on that stage, advancing to 8th in the general classification. On Stage 19, Frank even advanced one place further in the general classification to 7th, however on Stage 20 to Alpe d'Huez, he dropped to 8th again, which he also ended up finishing in Paris. The following year 2016, Frank had bad luck in the Tour de France when he crashed out on Stage 14. This switched his focus to the Vuelta a Espana. He managed to get into  several breakaways before finally winning a Stage on Stage 17. AG2R La Mondiale (2017–2021). Frank signed a two-year contract with French squad , and moved his focus to supporting Romain Bardet in the Tour de France. Frank finished 7th overall in Tour de Suisse, as his preparation for the Tour de France. Frank helped Bardet reaching the podium in Paris. The following year Frank was left out of the Tour de France squad, however when Alexandre Geniez was lacking form, Frank was ready to step in and helped Bardet to 6th place in Paris.