Preview: Graz Bike Opening and Bike Festival
24.04.23 07:36 2302023-04-24T07:36:00+02:00Text: NoMan, PM (translated by AI)Photos: GruberndEverything of everything, and double of it. Graz-Stattegg invites you to two major MTB events within just a few weeks. It kicks off on April 28 with the National Championships in Cross Country Short Track.24.04.23 07:36 3442023-04-24T07:36:00+02:00Preview: Graz Bike Opening and Bike Festival
24.04.23 07:36 3442023-04-24T07:36:00+02:00 NoMan, PM (translated by AI) GruberndEverything of everything, and double of it. Graz-Stattegg invites you to two major MTB events within just a few weeks. It kicks off on April 28 with the National Championships in Cross Country Short Track.24.04.23 07:36 3442023-04-24T07:36:00+02:00
Packed Power: Practically everything that the endurance-oriented sector of mountain biking has to offer is packed into a seven-day program in Graz-Stattegg, enhanced by three Austrian Championships. However, to make it work with fitness, vacation, and the capacity of the human brain, it is divided into two parts.
Powerful Charge
The two major Graz events represent MTB endurance sports, highly concentrated and top-notch
Graz Bike Opening
The start is marked by a clear Cross Country focus for all age and performance classes around the so-called 1st of May weekend. Traditionally, this date has been occupied by a certain bike festival in more southern regions. But honestly: Who needs Riva when there’s the Graz Bike Opening?
Especially when it kicks off with title honors right away! April 28: National Championship Cross Country Short Track, says the schedule. The start into the weekend could not be more action-packed, faster, more exciting, and fiercely contested. For those who are unfamiliar with this relatively new discipline: The associated races last no longer than 30 minutes and are held on about two-kilometer short circuits. There is sprinting, cutting, strategizing, and exploding. And the spectators, because the mass-released horde comes by every few minutes, are always live on the scene.
As part of the Austria Youngsters Cup on April 29, the youngsters will eagerly follow in the footsteps of the adults. The next generation can prove themselves in a much more varied way at the ten-part series. For a change, this year's menu includes a MTB combo again, meaning a slightly shorter XCO race preceded by a technical competition. Board riding, show jumping, rear wheel flicking, bottle spinning ... uh - circles and much more, before heading to the trails strewn with stones and roots of the legendary Youth European Championship - if that's not fun!
Comparatively classic then on Sunday and Monday: The Cross Country scene meets again with the participation of international top racers. After all, Graz offers a Cross Country "de luxe", as organizer Jürgen Pail calls it. Meaning, UCI Category C1, plenty of points and prize money! Juniors and U23 compete on April 30 for these merits, which also count towards the Mountainbike Liga Austria, and on May 1, the elite of both genders march on the infamous trails at the foot of the Schöckl. This year, the start-finish area is located again, almost new, at the village square of Stattegg.
Not entirely public, in the sense of being accessible to everyone, are finally the races on Tuesday. Because Styrian School Championships are naturally not for pensioners - or they are, cheering from the sidelines, as the grandchildren compete and possibly come into contact with MTB racing for the first time during their school attendance ...
Grazer Bike Festival Stattegg
Disciplinarily not necessarily to be unified under one hat is then the program of the second highlight, which takes place on June 8 and 9 - apart from the "Endurance" factor. Ultimately, however, this is very coherent in that the competitions offered at the start of the Corpus Christi weekend are again integrated into the extremely colorful array of the 3rd Sport Austria Finals. 28 Austrian sports federations determine their respective champions from June 7 to June 11 and transform Graz into the sports capital of Austria - including a concentrated media presence.
Ultra cool instead of boring
... the organizer is promoting the topic Schöckl Summit Storm instead of Bike MarathonAt the start, the endurance junkies rise from the foot of the Schöckl to its summit, and whoever achieves this the fastest can ultimately call themselves Austrian Hillclimb Champion! For everyone else – and of course the title holders – the legendary Kaiserschmarrn awaits at the finish line at the Alpine inn.
Summit storm instead of a classic marathon, where only the Small category along with the championship contenders complete a real mountain race. Those who want to be ranked in the Classic of the MTB-Challenge or in the Marathon-Cup of the Austrian Cycling Federation need to cover a few extra meters on the legendary Schöckl trails and earn the fabulous view at the iconic local mountain of Graz with additional sweat and muscle pain.
As an added bonus, Friday will see a premiere: The first ÖM in Pumptrack takes place in Gratkorn! This is made possible by the newly completed pumptrack in Gratkorn near the playground at the dam. And these championships, like the medal presentations the day before, are integrated into the Sport Austria Finals and thus their TV, print, and online coverage.
Details on how exactly the competition should proceed are currently being worked out. As an appetizer just so much: For the official calendar of the ÖRV, it was registered with the telling name "Grazer Pumptrack Escalation Stattegg"...
Information and registrations for both major events at www.bike09.at
