Mountain bike double World Cup in Saalfelden Leogang in front of spectators!

From 11 to 13 June, the Out of Bounds Festival heralds the 20th anniversary of the Epic Bikepark Leogang. And best of all: tomorrow (20 May) sees the start of pre-sales for the limited ticket contingent for the Cross Country and Downhill World Cup events in Saalfelden Leogang.

The Saalfelden Leogang region has been setting new standards for bike enthusiasts for two decades. In addition to the Epic Bikepark Leogang, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Mountain Bike World Cup has also been held in the Pinzgau bike mecca since 2010. Due to the fantastic World Championships last autumn, a double World Cup in the two flagship disciplines of mountain biking, cross country and downhill, will now be held for the first time as part of the Out of Bounds Festival from 11 to 13 June. The former is the Olympic discipline for mountain bikers and the technically difficult World Cup course in the Epic Bikepark Leogang is the penultimate stop before the Games in Tokyo. 

World Cup comeback for Vali Höll

For the world's best downhillers, the tenth edition of the Downhill World Cup in Leogang also marks the start of the World Cup season after the traditional opening events had to be cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus. It is also the eagerly awaited World Cup comeback for the local heroine: ‘Everything is going in the right direction for me again. I feel really comfortable on my new bike and I was able to master my first test under race conditions after the injury last weekend,’ says a satisfied Vali Höll, who was the top favourite for the title last year when she was injured on the morning of the final day of her home World Championships: ’Of course, the World Cup is something else again, I have no comparison, the girls are really strong and it will be difficult to keep up here. But on the other hand, it's only my second elite season, so it's only just getting started! If I go in with the same mindset that I had at the start last year, then it won't be bad.’

20 years of EPIC Bikepark Leogang

The downhill high-flyer will now have her own line dedicated to her for the bike park's 20th birthday, with the resounding name ‘Vali's Hell’: ‘A great honour. 20 years is amazing, the bike park is as old as I am. I can still remember my parents picking me up after primary school and taking me for a few runs.  I learnt how to ride a bike in Leogang. I owe a lot to the bike park because the foundation for my career was laid here,’ says Höll. In addition to ‘Vali's Hell’, the offer at Epic Bikepark Leogang 2021 has been expanded once again with further new trails and a new GoPro Bagjump Landingbag. 
 

20 years of EPIC Bikepark Leogang - that's a real success story. What began in 2001 at the Asitzbahn with the first bike park in Austria and four trails has now become an epicentre of the European gravity scene with a high level of international recognition. Today, 21 lines and trails of varying degrees of difficulty, a 5000 square metre pump track and various offers for kids appeal to an international target group. ‘It was a very bold step at the beginning and everyone was excited to see if it would work. We were in the fortunate position of being able to launch the project with the help of a total of 33 shareholders from Leogang. The first few years were not easy, but from 2006 onwards the number of visitors increased year on year, and in the last five years in particular it has taken on a whole new dimension,’ says Kornel Grundner, Managing Director of Leoganger Bergbahnen. While there were 16,700 mountain rides in 2001, this figure rose to 195,000 rides in the challenging summer of 2020: ‘We are delighted to be celebrating the start of our 20th season this year. Our passion for mountain biking has always been unbroken and last summer we proved that the sport is possible and safe in the bike park even in these difficult times,’ says Grundner.

Limited number of spectators allowed at the Out of Bounds Festival - ticket sales start on 20 May!

Saalfelden Leogang has also been working on a comprehensive safety concept for the Double World Cup, as a limited number of spectators will be allowed in allocated seats at the Double World Cup thanks to nationwide relaxations: ‘We are allowed to sell 600 tickets each on Friday and Saturday and a total of 700 tickets for the cross country competitions on Sunday,’ explains Marco Pointner: ‘These are numbered seats, which we have positioned attractively to give the fans a great view of the racing action and the video screens. The 3-G rule naturally applies to all visitors to the double World Cup,’ says Pointner, adding: ‘As with the World Championships last October, our concept was again created in close consultation with the authorities. As far as the authorisations are concerned, we are now on the home straight and would like to thank our responsible authority, the Zell am See district administration, for their excellent cooperation.’

For all those who don't get hold of tickets, the final races of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will be shown live on Red Bull TV and ORF.