Photo Report: Graz Bike Opening Stattegg 2023

This is how to foster and excite Cross Country enthusiasm: Following a conceivably fast, wet start (XCC) on April 28th, a varied Youngster Cup (MTB combination) ensued in terms of both weather and demands, before domestic and international Cross Country aces lined up for the XCO on April 30th and May 1st, under increasingly summery conditions.
To top it off, on Tuesday, 200 students from 35 schools in Styria honored us with their presence at the State School Championships.

The beginning of the long weekend saw the fast and wild riders led by defending champion Laura Stigger and her compatriot Gregor Raggl. Title? Defense? Indeed. This year, Graz once again served as the venue for the XCC National Championships, and like last year, the victories went to Tyrol.
While Stigger lived up to her motto "always full throttle" from start to finish, and in the final rounds of the characteristically short race, she was able to pull away from her last remaining pursuer Tamara Wiedmann, Raggl dueled until the end primarily with Max Foidl - including tactical, short tempo reductions. However, the Olympian could not keep up with the decisive attack from the defending champion half a lap before the finish.
Third place in the rain-soaked races on slippery grass and dirt was taken by promising youngsters: Kilian Feurstein from Vorarlberg, born in 2003, and Eva Herzog from Carinthia, who is even still a junior rider.

The second competition day brought not only sunshine – but later also sudden downpours – and a bustling, colorful, excitedly good mood to the Höllbach Arena and the Stattegger village square. It also came with sporting diversity, as the scheduled Youngsters Cup was held as an MTB combination for a change.
That is to say: First, it was necessary to demonstrate technical finesse in specially constructed technical sections. Then, according to the time deficits in this competition, it was off to a shortened XCO on the legendary trails of the XC terrain tested by the European Championships.

The field of participants spanned from tutus to braces in the U5 to U17 category, and the performances shown ranged from cute to intense. And one thing became clear in view of the 160 kids from six nations: one really doesn't have to worry about the future of mountain biking. Just send them to Graz, and all will be well...

At the conclusion of the publicly accessible races - the state school championships on May 2nd were naturally reserved for Styrian students - the cross-country scene impressively demonstrated the speed, bike control, willpower, and endurance required and present in the Olympic discipline. Spread over two days, first the younger ones, then the elite classes, competitors from 17 different nations battled it out on the infamous trails at the foot of the Schöckl for valuable UCI and MLA points, generous prize money, and the favor of the audience.

So once again, the chainsaws and cameras were fired up, once more the horns and other mood setters were pressed. Ultimately, the champions of the first day, Laura Stigger and Max Foidl, demolished the international competition. With a considerable lead of one and even four minutes, the two Tyroleans, each starting from the Stattegger village square, literally flew towards the finish line on the exceptionally sunny and thus extremely fast course, living up to their roles as favorites by more than a fair margin. The Red Bull athlete once again relegated Tamara Wiedmann and the Italian Greta Seiwald to the lower ranks; the KTM rider won ahead of his young compatriot Mario Bair and the New Zealander Matthew Wilson.