Pedalling since 1995: Ischgl Ironbike kicks off its anniversary race 

The legendary cult mountain bike race celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend with a two-day bike event. The programme includes the Ischgl Ironbike Marathon over four distances on Saturday, 9 August. The Short Track Race and the Kids & Juniors Trophy will take place on Friday afternoon, with a total of over 40,000 euros in prize money up for grabs. What began in the 1990s as a small but ambitious race has developed over three decades into one of the toughest and best-known mountain bike marathons in Europe.

Austrian Marathon Championships

It will be exciting to see whether Lower Austrian Hermann Pernsteiner can repeat last year's success on the Extreme route. Pernsteiner has been focusing on mountain biking again this year, with a brief detour to the road in July for the Tour of Austria being the exception. However, he faces tough competition in Ischgl, led by Manuel Pliem. The Upper Austrian recently won the Salzkammergut Trophy and is naturally keen to compete for the Austrian Championship title at Ironbike. The Tyroleans Philipp Handl and Daniel Federspiel are also strong contenders. The experienced German Markus Kaufmann is also expected to be in contention for the overall victory.

Experience Ischgl Ironbike

The Ischgl Ironbike Marathon, one of the toughest mountain bike races in Europe, takes amateur athletes and professionals along historic smuggling trails from Ischgl to neighbouring Samnaun in Switzerland. The four routes EXTREME (70 km / 3,391 m elevation gain), HARD (59 km / 2,716 m elevation gain), MEDIUM (44 km / 1,882 m elevation gain) and LIGHT (25 km / 659 m elevation gain) lead through the impressive natural scenery of the Silvretta massif and push participants to their limits. The four race routes are open to all riders, but licensed riders will only be ranked on the EXTREME and HARD routes. The Ischgl Ironbike Marathon offers over 40,000 euros in total prize money.