KitzAlpBike Adds Three Events
From June 28th to July 1st, the Raiffeisen KitzAlpBike Festival 2023 marks the international mountain bike racing calendar. In the program of the five-day bike spectacle in Brixental, there are new faces as well as old acquaintances, such as the VAUDE HillClimb and the highlight mountain bike marathon . With the Funduro Kirchberg , the KitzAlpBike technical Kids Race and a bike skill course in Westendorf, the festival is expanding its repertoire this year.
Two become five: The Raiffeisen KitzAlpBike Festival presents itself in 2023 with two proven highlights and three new competitions. The legendary KitzAlpBike mountain bike marathon, which will take place for the 27th time on July 1st, and the cult competition VAUDE HillClimb in Brixen im Thale, which marks the start of the festival, will be joined by new mountain bike disciplines.
The new competition, which is being launched in Westendorf, is all about skill: as part of the "Schau zuichi Markt" on Thursday, personal skills can be tested on a bike skill course. "Integrated into the busy market activity, this new competition on the day after the HillClimb in Brixen will certainly be a great thing," says TVB-Brixental Managing Director Christoph Stöckl.
Funduro as the newcomer in the program booklet
Funduro is a word creation from the English "fun", meaning fun, and that mountain bike discipline that goes perfectly with the mountain bike destination of Brixental and its numerous single trails. The Enduro European Championships took place in Kirchberg in 2015, and in 2023 the discipline will return for all hobby athletes. The competition is divided into several evaluation tests (stages) in which the participants compete against the clock. In between, transfer stages without time evaluation must be completed before the start of the next stage. The route of the Funduro Kirchberg amounts to a total of 1000 vertical meters for individual starters. There is also the option to compete in teams of three. The following applies: Only mixed teams consisting of at least one lady are eligible to start.
Youngsters pedal at the KitzAlpBike technical Kids Race
The popular children's races of the Raiffeisen KitzAlpBike Festival are back in the programme. But this year they come in a completely new format: The KitzAlpBike technical Kids Race is a novelty in the cross-country mountain bike scene. In a circuit race in the finish area of the Fleckalmbahn, age-appropriate technical elements and obstacles await the participants in the U7 to U19 classes to overcome. Switchbacks and wooden obstacles, as well as jumps, stone and root passages not only require endurance, but above all technical ability.
Festival program with Kitzbühel Trial-Ass
In addition to the five competitions, there is also a supporting program at the five-day festival in 2023. The Expo Area on the festival site at the Fleckalmbahn in Kirchberg forms the framework for the festival. “It is important to us to also underline the social aspect of the festival. After the competition, there will be a meal - a big get-together with the many volunteers, organizers and participants," says Stöckl. A lot has been thought of: in addition to DJ sound, there will also be a bike trial show by and with the Kitzbühel trial biker Fabian Dankl.
A look into the future of the festival
The managing director of the TVB Brixental sees the Raiffeisen KitzAlpBike Festival on the upswing: "It is a heart project for our Bike ARGE Kitzbühel-Brixental." This works intensively together with agriculture and hunters on new and innovative bike infrastructure projects and future solutions: "The Bike ARGE Kitzbühel-Brixental sees the KitzAlpBike Festival as an event that has grown over the decades, which perfectly represents and strengthens our bike region. The festival has been set up superbly and has a long tradition. It is the event spearhead of our intensified cooperation and part of the future development.”
Further information on the Raiffeisen KitzAlpBike Festival: www.kitzalpbike.at
