Ralph Denk, * November 1, 1973

“Team NetApp is a dream project that I’m putting my heart into and pursuing with commitment and the ambitious goal of rising up into the World Tour soon. Our organization offers new prospects and opportunities to talented riders from all over the world. Being in a position to help promote this talent and being able to share in their successes at the pinnacle of international cycling is a gift for those of us steering the team.”

Ralph Denk took up cycling at the age of 12. As an up-and-coming rider, he established himself in his younger years by earning a spot on the “Opel Schüler Berlin” elite team. He competed in tours, including the Bayern Rundfahrt, as well as in various six-day races until 1996. He claimed the title of Bavarian champion on several occasions and once achieved third place in Munich's six-day race. As of 1996, he took up a new challenge as a technical representative at SRAM Cooperation, a U.S.-based manufacturer of components. In 2000, he opened his own bike shop, the Ralph Denk Bikestore in Raubling near Munich. 

At the same time, he became involved in mountain bike racing, founding the Giant Racing Team, a UCI mountain bike team, in 2005. He celebrated many successes with them as the team manager, including overall victory in the 2006 World Cup and silver medal at the World Championships. In spite of this, road cycling remained his passion, which is why he began supporting and managing several projects for young talent from 2007. His own U19 team for promising riders, Team Auto Eder Bayern (previously called Quest-Ralph-Denk-Team), continues to claim impressive wins today. Since 2010, he has served as team manager for the Team NetApp professional squad, which in just one year climbed from the third to the second cycling league and continues to pursue its path to the top of world cycling.

Jens Heppner, * December 23, 1964

“Building up a cycling team these days requires a lot of skill, perseverance, an ambitious goal and reliable partners. We started out in 2010 as a Continental team in order to grow gradually. The structures were already laid out in a professional manner, as required for a Continental team. That way, the move up into the second league after just one year was ensured. The conditions offered by NetApp and our co-sponsors, who have World Tour experience, are optimal in terms of signing up and promoting discovered talent, which is an appealing and challenging task for us.”

Jens Heppner’s cycling career began at the early age of nine with his hometown club BSG Elektronik Gera. Four years later, he transferred to the SG Wismut Gera sports school, where he was able to score his first successes over the next 12 years. Among other things, he was the junior world champion in the team time trial, stage winner and overall winner of the Hessen Rundfahrt, a two-time winner of the Sachsen Tour and the GDR’s road cycling champion. After just two years with Team Panasonic-Sportlife, he moved to Team Telekom, a milestone in his professional career. During that time, he participated several times in major tours, including the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. He placed 10th overall at the Tour de France, wore the leader’s jersey for 11 days at the Giro d’Italia, was the German professional champion, won the Deutschland Tour, and counts many other stage wins and overall wins among his successes.

Jens Heppner continued racing, joining Team Wiesenhof in 2003. In 2005, he took on the position of team manager. When it was founded in 2009, Team NetApp secured both Heppner’s experience as a rider and as a team manager with Team Wiesenhof. Jens Heppner lives in Kelmis, Belgium, very close to Team NetApp’s service course. He’s an important pillar for the team in his role as sport director.

Enrico Poitschke, * August 25, 1969

“Team NetApp differentiates itself in particular by giving talented riders the opportunity to appear and develop on an international cycling stage. Finding hidden talent and diamonds in the rough is one of the most important and enjoyable tasks that we have. In doing so, we apply our many years of experience, and already we’re witnessing our pro riders’ initial successes.”

Enrico Poitschke also embarked on his cycling career at an early age. He competed in his first race at the age of 11 at his hometown’s BSG Einheit Niesky cycling center. When he was 15, he transferred to the SG Wismut Gera sports school, which enjoyed an excellent reputation in terms of training cycling talent. Just one year later, Enrico Poitschke was named in the junior national team for the former GDR, where he soon went on to claim international successes. After switching to the amateur field, the former professional rider competed at races along with Jens Heppner, his current colleague at Team NetApp. Further cooperation involving both of them followed in 2003-2004 at Team Wiesenhof, where they formed the team’s mainstay. From 2005 to 2008, Poitschke competed for Team Milram, a ProTour team, racing at all the major national tours during that period. Since 2010, he has been a member of Team NetApp's sport management team, offering 25 years of experience as an amateur and professional.