Local bike heroes chase points at home game

Friday, 02.06.2023

Local bike heroes chase points at home game

Just under two weeks left until the international mountain bike community looks to Saalfelden Leogang again.

The UCI Mountain Bike World Series will take place in Salzburg from 15 to 18 June. The domestic bike elite with Hell, Stigger, Kolb and co. are hot on the “superevent” and promise a lot.  

In Saalfelden Leogang, an unprecedented bike event is approaching. For the first time, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series will feature the women’s downhill and cross country athletes as well as the Enduro and E-Enduro riders. A World Cup of superlatives with over 20,000 spectators is guaranteed: impressive atmosphere, spectacular sports and unique natural scenery. 
Of course, the Austrian athletes - among them Laura Stigger - are also looking forward to the home game. The Tyrolean cross-country rider recently celebrated a brilliant start to the 2023 season with her first World Cup victory in the short track. It is no surprise, then, that the 22-year-old is counting down a lot for the home World Cup – not least because she has already finished on the podium twice in Leogang in the last two years. 
 
Local cross-country riders Stigger and Mitterwallner chase the competition  
For the Tyrolean and her compatriot Mona Mitterwallner, the World Cup starts on Friday 16 June in front of a home crowd for the first time. At 5.30 p.m., the women's UCI Short Track World Cup (XCC) will start free. At 18.15, the men will start the race. The results of the competition on the shortened course will also determine the starting line-up for the Olympic Cross Country Race (XCO), which takes place on Sunday, June 18. The women start at 1pm, the men follow at 3.30pm. With a length of 3.6 kilometres and a height difference of 210 metres, the track at the foot of the Asitz demands everything from the athletes again this year.
 
Thursday Enduro – Saturday Downhill: Full programme on the competition calendar
The downhill competition on the legendary “Speedster” track at the Epic Bikepark Leogang brings down the curtain on the final races on Saturday, June 17. The start for the women with local matador and overall World Cup winner Vali Héll is at 1 pm, the men, around the successful Styrian Andi Kolb, are in demand at 2 pm.  The newcomers to the boat this year, the Enduro and E-Enduro riders, will take to the track on Thursday, June 15, at 11 a.m., which will lead them over a total of six stages through Austria's largest bike region Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn. The final stage at the Epic Bikepark Leogang starts at 5.30pm. 
 
Action packed away from the races
At the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Saalfelden Leogang you can not only experience spectacular races but also pure bike sports off the tracks. From Thursday to Sunday, a large Team & Expo Area awaits in the Bikepark Leogang where you can take a look at the novelties of the season. And: on Saturday, June 17, there will be a signing session by FOX with the stars of the scene. In addition, Red Bull Air Race pilot Dario Costa also impresses on this day with an air show. Of course, the popular after-race parties are also waiting on these days.
 
Free ride to bike fun: entrance ticket is public ticket
If you want to experience the “super-event” in Saalfelden Leogang live and would like to travel without stress and comfort, a Zuckerl is waiting for you: The entrance ticket for the UCI Mountainbike World Cup is automatically valid as a ticket for all public transport in the state of Salzburg (except O-bus lines and bus lines in the city of Salzburg).

Information and programme overview: https://www.mtb-weltcup.at/en