Hillclimb Brixen 2023 Photo Report - Kitzalpbike

Since 2018, there had been no Austrian victory in the men's category. However, at the 15th edition of the Vaude HillClimb on June 28th, the local hero from Brixen im Thale struck: Patrick Hagenaars secured a lead of 4.6 seconds over the young Salzburger Kevin Hinterberger on the mountain bike sprint course to Filzalmsee.
"This means an incredible amount to me. It's my eighth time participating in the HillClimb. I've made it to the podium twice before, but to win for the first time today makes me extremely happy," explained Hagenaars.
In third place, the Kirchdorf World Cup ski mountaineer Andreas Mayer defended his strong position from the previous year.

In front of the eyes of biathlon world champion Lisa Hauser, who, like more than 700 other enthusiastic spectators in the finish area at Filzalmsee, provided a great atmosphere, a young Tyrolean woman, who is also more than familiar with the surrounding mountains, triumphed in the women's race: Anna Plattner, the current record holder for the ascent to the Kitzbüheler Horn, demonstrated her climbing skills on the 600-meter elevation gain and 5.5-kilometer-long climb in Brixen. The woman from Hall managed to win a strong race against Amalie Cooper from Innsbruck and the national mountain bike sprint champion, Alina Reichert from Lower Austria.

With fantastic biking conditions, the Vaude HillClimb Brixen im Thale celebrated a small anniversary this year: for the 15th time, over 200 starters tackled the mountain sprint to Filzalmsee.
"We had an international field of participants with many licensed riders, but also numerous locals were with us today and we are happy about the great spirit we were able to experience this evening," rejoiced TVB managing director Christoph Stöckl.

Continuing with the program on Thursday, June 29th, there will be a very special edition of the "Schau zuichi Markt" in Westendorf, starting at 3 PM with a skills competition for the bike youth, entirely dedicated to the KitzAlpBike Festival.
Friday afternoon, at 2 PM, it's Funduro Time! The new competition requires technical riding skills, stamina, and the desire for a hefty dose of bike fun.
The marquee event of the KitzAlpBike Festival is on the schedule for Saturday. For over a quarter of a century, the KitzAlpBike Mountainbike Marathon has been calling its participants to the Kitzbühel Alps. Also in 2023, the event stands as one of the highlights in the domestic racing calendar. One of Austria's toughest, but also most beautiful, long-distance races will once again take place over four different distances - Medium (38 km, 1500 m elevation gain), Medium Plus (65 km, 2500 m elevation gain), Extreme (74 km, 3000 m elevation gain), and Ultra (86 km, 3600 m elevation gain) - across the mountain world of the Kitzbühel Alps.
The children's races with the new Kids Technical Race will provide a crowning conclusion to the festival on Saturday following the marathon.