After some nail-biting days due to heavy rain fall in the Southern part of Germany, it’s all set for the inaugural BIKE Four Peaks as the four- day event will definitely kick off tomorrow. Although their might be some minor changes to the routing due to the extreme weather conditions, the starting pistol will be fired by Fritz Fischer, coach of the German Biathlon National Team, at 10 AM on June 5.
About 900 mountain bikers from 35 countries will then tackle the first stage to Lofer (AUT) and thus 68.73 km and 1,900 metres in elevation. In total, the field has to master 295.50 km and 8,887 metres in elevation spread over four legs to Neukirchen am Grossvenediger.
The biggest part of the participating mountain bikers comes from Germany (413). But also the Austrian (90), Dutch (89), Danish (70) and Swiss (54) riders are high in number. Athletes from New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago, Belarus, Latvia, Brazil, the US and Kazakhstan create some international flair and also underline the importance of the BIKE Four Peaks in the MTB scene.
The most racers, some 350 each, start in the men and master category (40+). In addition, racers older than 50, the so-called grand master, are about 140 in total while also more than 60 women compete, too.
Pros as well as amateurs will pedal a total of some 300 kilometres which are peppered with almost 9,000 meters in elevation gain from Ruhpolding via Lofer, Kirchberg in Tirol and Kaprun to Neukirchen am Grossvenediger.
Besides entering the race as single starter, every participant can also register for a team of four or even more mountain bikers.