Saalfelden Leogang on new paths to the 2020 World Championships

The Saalfelden Leogang region is further expanding its cycling offer and investing around one million euros in the bike infrastructure: among other things, four new lines and trails as well as a large pump track will expand and internationalize the offer. In order to meet the constantly growing demand, mountain bikers will be transported on both the Asitz and Steinberg cable cars from the summer. Bikepark Leogang will be given a new look as “The Epic Bikepark Leogang” and is set to continue its success story. This will bring many innovations in the direction of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships, which will be held in Saalfelden Leogang next year. From June 7 to 9, the downhill World Cup will be the dress rehearsal for the World Championships.

 

 

Skiers still reign supreme in Saalfelden Leogang, but in just a few weeks the region will once again be the epicenter of the European gravity scene. The Leogang mountain railroads record around 160,000 bike rides every year during the summer season. In order to meet the increased demand, the Saalfelden Leogang bike region, which took on a pioneering role in mountain biking 18 years ago, is once again reinventing itself. The renowned bike park is presenting an innovative concept in 2019 under the slogan “The Epic Bikepark Leogang”. Around one million euros have been invested to make the bike region even more attractive. From summer 2019, Saalfelden Leogang will be home to four different new lines and trails of all levels of difficulty: the “Steinberg Line by Fox”, “Antonius Trail”, “Schwarzleo” and “Forsthoftrail”. There is also a pump track on 5000 square meters, as well as new transport options, explains Kornel Grundner, Managing Director of Leoganger Bergbahnen: “Bikepark Leogang was founded in 2001 and has been continuously developed. After 18 years, it was now time to take a new step with the brand and expand the offer. Both the investment of around one million euros and the second cable car, the Steinbergbahn, which will open for bikers this summer alongside the Asitzbahn, are quantum leaps. We want to further internationalise the bike park and open up new markets, such as the UK or Scandinavia.”

 

 

An important sign in the direction of year-round tourism

Marco Pointner, Managing Director of Saalfelden Leogang Touristik, agrees that the aim is to remain one of the best in the coming years: ‘We must utilise our pole position to continue to create a positive offer for our bike-loving guests.’ After all, thanks to mountain bikers, the Saalfelden Leogang region is well on the way to becoming a year-round tourism region: ‘We can now record almost one million overnight stays and excellent added value in the region. We now have 52 per cent winter tourists and just under 48 per cent of guests in summer and are therefore on the right track,’ Pointner is pleased to report.  The tourism experts also see potential in the month of April in particular, which is why the ‘April, April’ campaign was launched this year. From 13 to 22 April, parts of the Bikepark Leogang will be open and, for the first time, both skiing and biking will be possible there before Easter.

 

SalzburgerLand Managing Director Leo Bauernberger, MBA, is also convinced that Saalfelden Leogang is in pole position when it comes to its mountain bike offer: ‘This region has played a pioneering role for almost 20 years in catering to the high-quality mountain bike guest and has managed to set highlights every year and further develop its offer. I am therefore very pleased that Saalfelden Leogang wants to remain at the forefront.’ 

 

Taking big steps towards the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships

The region has been the only World Cup stop in Austria since 2010 and hosted the World Championships in 2012. Eight years later, the destination will once again host the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships in September 2020.
Before that, however, the world-class athletes will first have their dress rehearsal at the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in Saalfelden Leogang as part of the Out of Bounds Festival from 7 to 9 June 2019. A true Leogang expert will then extend his stay to pass on his tips and tricks to the fans: Aaron Gwin, multiple overall World Cup winner, will be organising a technical camp in the biking region for the first time in the days following the Out of Bounds Festival. In September, the renowned BIKE Festival will round off the bike events in Saalfelden Leogang for 2019.

 

Picture: Happy about the new appearance of the Bikepark Leogang: from left Kornel Grundner, GF Leoganger Bergbahnen GmbH and organiser of the UCI MTB Downhill World Championships and WC, Leo Bauernberger, MBA, GF SalzburgerLand Tourismus GmbH, Marco Pointner, GF Saalfelden Leogang Touristik GmbH and organiser of the UCI MTB Downhill World Championships and WC//credit:smpr.at