As part of our tried and tested mix of educational trip and team event, the Tour d’Horizon, it was Claudio “Schnurri” Schnurrenberger’s turn to organize it this year. Schladming has been a mythical term for all downhill-oriented cyclists for decades. This myth was created by legendary Downhill World Cups but also by stories of outstanding jump lines (so-called Jüks in Vast’s jargon). As we all enjoy indulging in the Jük discipline, it was an intuitive consequence for Schnurri to choose our tour this year with Schladming in the Austrian state of Styria as the destination.
Author: Dave Tschumi
Photos: Severin Schindler & Mario Gisler
First things first: Bike Park Brandnertal
The Brandnertal was practically on the way to Styria and the bike park, which has been continuously expanded in recent years, was therefore the perfect first stop. It impresses with a harmonious progression and diversification of different trail styles. From blue to black and with illustrious trail names such as “Tschäkk the Ripper” or “Tschak Norris”, there is something here for every taste and every level of riding. However, our attention was soon drawn to the red freeride trails and in particular to a newly built section of jumps at the height of the middle station. From the wild downhill route leading into a silky smooth jump line, we spent over 1.5 hours in this section, repeatedly pushing the bikes back up. The tenor was unanimous – it doesn’t take much to be happy – a few well-laid and varied jumps are enough for several hours of sporting pleasure. The only downside, in our opinion, was the “Tschengla Uunchained” flow trail, which was built and maintained with little love. In order to make bike park riding more appealing to beginners and small kids, there definitely needs to be a better offer. One thing that can be said for the downside is that the trail goes through a very wet perimeter, but this should be taken into account in the planning.
Schladming
From our cozy accommodation in the historic old village center of Schladming, we set off on the second day full of excitement. The Schladming Bike Park is accessed by a cable car with an elevation of over 1000 meters. The main action takes place in the upper, flatter section. A fun, well-designed blue flow trail warmed us up well and led us directly to one of the sources of the Schladming myth – the 99 Jump Line, a medium-sized and creatively designed jump line, which is divided into different sections. This works by alternately reducing the speed (e.g. with the help of step ups) and re-building up speed for the next jumps through short steep passages. The Monster Jump Line, which is laid out parallel in the lower section, on the other hand, is designed to build on one another, which makes perfect sense due to the larger dimensions of the jump distances. We were so taken with the 99 Jump Line that we rode it almost non-stop in an endless loop.
Reiteralm
After an exciting exchange with Mario from the Schladming Bike Park Crew and a bit of rehydration, we took the shuttle over to Reiteralm, where on Friday evening the cable car service extends the trail fun until 7 p.m. Various trail styles with a natural approach (enduro and single trails) make Reiteralm a beautiful landscape and trail experience. Which makes perfect sense as a supplement to the Schladming Bike Park. The only exception is a recently created, short jump line, which we also really liked, but is quite a bit shorter than the 99 Jump Line in Schladming. This may be due to the very steep terrain, which made the construction of this jump line very challenging.
So it was no surprise that the following day we all headed back towards the 99 Jump Line. On this day we also found out that the Schladming Bike Park is also impressive in other ways, with a coherent and clear range of trail styles and difficulty levels. The myth lives on and is palpable. In addition, the condition of the trails was very good, considering that we were there at the end of July after a few weeks of high season. The tiredness of the seemingly endless Jük sessions was slowly setting in and so we enjoyed a nice cool down with a few last jumps into the Enns river and then an unforgettable team evening with many other Schladmingers – the locally brewed hop drink.
Trail Center Bichl (Innsbruck)
On the way home on Sunday, a small group made a detour to the Trail Center “Bichl Trails”, which opened in summer 24. It is impressive what can be done with “only” a 25 meter difference in altitude. In a compact and easily manageable area, an XC loop, a red and a black single trail, a blue flow trail and a more challenging jump line offer everything a biker’s heart desires. There is even a fun single trail (so-called uphill trail) for the ascent.
Our Schladming key takeaways:
- The great future belongs to the Jüks: harmonious, well-embedded and varied jump lines that are well integrated into the existing topography are inspiring. It is no longer just a few users who indulge in the pleasure of Jumps. The Jump Lines were consistently the most frequented routes
- The level of riding is growing rapidly: thanks to the available and constantly evolving infrastructure, the next generation of riding skills are already at the start. This must be taken into account when designing the offer.
- Whether jumps are dangerous only has a limited connection to their size. Good dimensioning, functioning speed management, the right take-off and landing angles, good readability, sufficient preparation time and good maintenance are far more important factors for planning and building jumps safely.
- A harmonious progression and variety of trail styles as well as their condition through guaranteed and professionally carried out maintenance are crucial for the long-term success of a destination.
- Mountain bikers are becoming increasingly more and more segmented in riding styles – only if you take this into account will you be able to attract the majority in the future.
The myth lives on and develops. In its early years, Schladming was a beacon in the Downhill World Cup, but it is now evolving into a comprehensive mountain bike destination! Continuous target group-oriented development contributes to its success.
Vast team in front of the Dachstein massif, from left to right:
Emma, Severin, Levi, Jochen, Donat, Greg, Schnurri, Dave, Marco, Philipp, Mario und Leo
