Photo Report Pumptrack Stattegg Opening
04.10.23 09:43 472023-10-04T09:43:00+02:00Text: NoMan (translated by AI)Photos: fskugi.com, grubernd (Party), Wolfgang Pall (Luft)The people of Statteg have a pump track - now officially. And we have all the pictures from the big opening as well as an interview with mastermind Jürgen Pail.04.10.23 09:43 512023-10-04T09:43:00+02:00Photo Report Pumptrack Stattegg Opening
04.10.23 09:43 512023-10-04T09:43:00+02:00 NoMan (translated by AI) fskugi.com, grubernd (Party), Wolfgang Pall (Luft)The people of Statteg have a pump track - now officially. And we have all the pictures from the big opening as well as an interview with mastermind Jürgen Pail.04.10.23 09:43 512023-10-04T09:43:00+02:00
It took ten years from the initial idea to the final implementation, but good things take time. And now it's complete, the Pumptrack Stattegg in the Höllbach Arena, jointly constructed by the municipality and bike club.
With a fun competition, music, food and drink, and a raffle, the new Graz sports facility was presented to the public on 30.9. A great opportunity for Bikeboard.at, one of the driving forces behind the project, to invite club chairman Jürgen Pail to the microphone.
Everything that rolls
The motto of the Pumptrack and the opening festival
Bikeboard: Jürgen, you are already very accustomed to the sight of countless, joyfully cycling children thanks to your professional club work. Still, does this picture here have a new quality?
Jürgen Pail: Yes, the opening of this sports facility is definitely a milestone in the history of the Bikeclub Stattegg, which we have been striving for over ten years. And we are, to put it mildly, very proud of it. As a club, we have recently shifted our focus more and more from high-profile events of national and international importance towards a training center with offers ranging from active kindergarten to junior competitive sports. The facility serves our goal perfectly to enable kids to have fun and enjoy movement. And for our competitively oriented youth, it offers a perfect training ground and the ideal complement to our sessions on natural trails, in skills areas, or agility courses. In this respect, the new pump track is now the absolute highlight for children of all ages and skill levels.
The absolute highlight for children of all ages and skill levels
BC Giant Stattegg-Chairman Jürgen Pail on the new Pumptrack
BB: Could you briefly provide our readers with some numbers and facts about the pump track – size, costs, etc.?
JP: The facility covers an area of around 3,000 m², and, as you can see, just under a third of it is asphalt. The total cost of the project amounts to approximately 240,000 euros, with the Stattegg municipality covering 150,000 of that. The bike club is contributing 90,000 euros. A jump line with three larger tables as well as a pump track in the narrower sense has been realized, meaning a wave track with two steep curves to the left and right each, as well as additional loops, tables, and variations. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that the dismantling of the old Eichberg road along the Höllbach completely neutralizes the soil sealing caused by the pump track.
BB: In recent years, pump tracks have been popping up everywhere. How come the MTB center Graz-Stattegg had to wait so long for such a sports facility?
JP: Strictly speaking, the long lead time only confirms our role as pioneers, sometimes ahead of our time (smiles). And the long development time allowed all the experiences in pump track construction, which others have recently made, to be incorporated. In any case, there was an exemplary public participation process, in which numerous adults as well as many children from Stattegg participated. And a pump track was at the top of their wish list. The Stattegg municipality and the bike club accepted this task and have now implemented it in a joint effort and with the active help of our youth as well.
BB: Is there a usage fee for non-members for financing purposes?
JP: No, the use of the pump track is free for everyone. But we are very happy if someone would like to support us with donations in monetary value. And of course, the net proceeds from the opening ceremony will also flow into this project.
BB: Those who know you suspect that you are already forging plans in this direction. So: Has the application to host the next possible UCI Pumptrack World Championships already been sent?
JP: (laughs) If we have a real passion project, it is the return of the UEC MTB Youth European Championship that we invented. The grown-up, now annually largest UEC European Championship should return to its birthplace! That will become a topic when the construction project "Sports and Health Center" is completed. That will be around 2025/2026, maybe facilities of a MTB Federal Performance Center will also be included. (Psst, but don't spread the word!) As you can see, we certainly do not lack ideas, energy, and motivation.
Donations are warmly welcome under the payment reference "Donation Pumptrack" to the account of the Cycling Club Bikeclub Stattegg, IBAN AT71 3837 7000 0204 0004!
The Party Program
The event officially started at 2 PM with the Pump4Fun consistency competition. But even before that, during the open practice, there was already a lot of activity on the wave track. The clearly recognizable mission of the village youth here: Higher! Further! Faster!
Did you see how I jumped over the ramp?
Everything that matters for Johann from the Bikeclub Giant Stattegg
Everyone was allowed in the fun competition, on or with anything that rolls; so all kinds of bikes, scooters, inline skates, skateboards, E-model cars...
The mode? As accessible as possible. "Just show up and burn two runs into the asphalt. The smallest time difference between both runs determines the winner!", was the instruction manual of the Bikeclub Giant Stattegg.
The result? About 100 pump track testers and 120 "official" cycling fans of all ages, who, dressed up colorfully or in strict racing gear, coolly styled or with a casual enduro outfit, threw themselves into the ring.
Eventually, veteran Martin Kaiser-Kaplaner and youngster Matteo Godin had the edge in terms of having exactly the same time in the wind on both occasions. Behind the two ex-aequo winners, Gerald Rosenkranz and Maks Maunz took second place, each with a hundredth of a second time difference. The podium was completed by Marco Ertl in third place with a two-hundredths of a second difference - a close story!
By the way, many girls and women also participated. Verena Ladstätter managed to place herself the furthest ahead in the mixed field as sixth (Δ 0.05 sec.).
At 5:00 PM, the ceremonial opening followed, during which political celebrities and project supporters officially handed over the pump track at Höllbach Arena to the public.
The subsequent Pump4Fun award ceremony at the Statteger village square marked the beginning of the festive part of the opening celebration. With music, food and drink, and a raffle with great prizes, the celebration continued until the asphalt of the brand-new wave track glowed (at sunset) - and far beyond ...
