Photo Report Graz Bike-Opening Stattegg 2024
09.07.24 09:18 322024-07-09T09:18:00+02:00Text: NoMan (translated by AI)Photos: Bernd Gruber/Mehrzweckraum.comValentina Gruber and Theo Hauser claimed the Austrian Championships titles in XCE, and the race weekend on and around the Schöckl was predominantly a matter for the younger generation.09.07.24 09:18 1682024-07-09T09:18:00+02:00Photo Report Graz Bike-Opening Stattegg 2024
09.07.24 09:18 1682024-07-09T09:18:00+02:00 NoMan (translated by AI) Bernd Gruber/Mehrzweckraum.comValentina Gruber and Theo Hauser claimed the Austrian Championships titles in XCE, and the race weekend on and around the Schöckl was predominantly a matter for the younger generation.09.07.24 09:18 1682024-07-09T09:18:00+02:00
He came, rode, and conquered. Theo Hauser, freshly crowned World Cup winner and Austria's next great hope for the XCE World Championship after sprint ace Daniel Federspiel, successfully defended his Austrian Championship title in Graz-Stattegg as expected.
Already in the qualification round of the national championship, held as part of the Graz Bike Opening, he marched through with a comfortable three-second lead – a significant margin for the sprint discipline. In the final heats, the other title contenders had no chance against the 20-year-old local hero, who is considered one of the favorites for the rainbow stripes on July 13 in Aalen, Germany. Dominik Gaßner from the Kürnberg Cyclists captured silver, and bronze went to Jan Dirisamer from the "Vöstler" team.
Incidentally, the course for the eliminator event, with its long start-finish straight and the round on the dam of the retention basin featuring some hills and obstacles, was designed to resemble next week's World Championship course – a bit of extra support for the local hero.
Theo has transformed from a scattergun to a direct hit
Opening organizer and club chairman Jürgen Pail on the current hottest asset of BC Giant Stattegg
It's not that tough at all.
Jürgen Pail again, on the topic of the XCE track
Young Guns 1: XCE-Austrian Championship
The women's competition also went to a flagship of the organizing club with Valentina Gruber. Like Hauser, she is 20 years young and has gone through the youth training program of the bike club Giant Stattegg. The cross-country all-rounder relegated Nicole Sommer (ARBÖ PopaFlo Freistadt) and Sophia Knaubert (RV Bike Sport Scheffau) to the other places.
Notably: With one exception (Gerd Skant, ultimately third in the small final), only young wild ones from the year 2001 and later dared to enter the arena of the fastest and perhaps most brutal ("four start, two survive," © Jürgen Pail) cross-country discipline.
Schöckl Summit Storm
Gruber's title win among the women is all the more remarkable because the young lady also subjected herself to a considerable pre-load the day before – also extremely successfully, mind you.
She won the short distance of the Schöckl Gipfelsturm with a good six-minute lead over Nathalie Schöffmann and Anna Waldner, which, given the 13 km route length with 1,050 meters of elevation gain, suggests exceptionally good legs.
Only 13 kilometers? Indeed. The route of the hill climb on the Graz local mountain had to be adapted at short notice this year due to official requirements, effectively being cut to almost half. Gerald Grundner was equally delighted with this change. He won among the men ahead of Dominik Wychera and Maks Barret Maunz.
For the ninth edition of the "Mountain Race with Pirouettes," which was once again part of the KTM Mountainbike Challenge in 2024, a total of 130 participants competed under sunny but windy conditions.
On the shortened Classic distance of 46 km/2,200 meters of elevation gain, Luca Werani and Alice Bayerl-Weiss emerged victorious. Without the mayor's downhill section but with a new, challenging hollow path before the North Lift, they relegated Johannes Holas and Josef Hausleitner, as well as Roswitha Hense-Simenko, to the following places.
Andreas Kirchberger and Sabine Sommer won the 55 km long Austria Marathon Cup loop for licensed riders.
Young Guns 2: Junior Challenge
What a true Challenge competition is, of course, also has a junior offshoot - especially in Graz, the stronghold of youth development.
And so on Sunday morning, youth hopefuls from U5 to U17 once again bustled and dashed through the Stattegg center; the former in the form of El Miniators over the village square, all other classes on beginner-friendly XC tracks around the Höllbach Arena.
Overall, that makes exactly 99 young guns in seven races, who really made some noise under the watchful eyes and enthusiastic cheers of their accompanying fans.
And because it fit so well and is also an opening tradition, the Styrian Championships for U13-U17 were also included.
Am kommenden Wochenende (12.-14.7.) wird die diesjährige Grazer Renn-Trilogie mit dem traditionellen Bike-Festival beendet. Nach Downhill, Uphill und Sprint (s.o.) geht’s dann mit zwei ÖMs (XCC und XCO) sowie einer knackigen Olympia-Generalprobe (UCI C1) exklusiv um die Disziplin Cross Country – kommt und seht!
