Granite marathon
| Granite marathon | |
|
|
| Host country |
 Austria
|
| overall length | Light (26 km and 700 HM) Small (49 km and 1500 HM) Classic (60 km and 2000 HM) Xtreme (90 km and 3100 HM) |
The ASVÖ Raiffeisen Granite Marathon is a mountain bike marathon race in Kleinzell in the Mühlkreis ( Upper Austria ). It takes place annually on the weekend of Pentecost.
In 2006 the Austrian State Championship was held as part of this race . From 2007 to 2011 he was part of the TREK Mountain Bike Challenge , which includes a total of 10 mountain bike races in Europe. In 2011 it was the venue for the European Championship of the European Cycling Federation ( UCI ). Since 2012 he has been part of the Centurion MTB Challenge .
Due to the special landscape in the Mühlviertel, the race differs significantly from other major races.
marathon
The mountain bike marathon discipline is the core of the racing weekend every year. In the first two years, two different route lengths were driven. It was a circuit that had to be driven once on the small route (38 kilometers) and twice on the classic route (76 kilometers). In 2003 this route changed slightly so that the distances were two and four kilometers longer. A third route variant has existed since 2004, the light route is 27 kilometers long and is primarily intended to appeal to hobby drivers. When the European Mountain Bike Marathon Championships were held in 2011, the route was adapted to the new requirements and special features of the UCI regulations in 2009. The Classic route has run for over 100 kilometers since 2009, with each point only being approached once. The small route has also been slightly modified and there are 50 km to be completed here. The light route stayed the same.
In 2012, the route went back to a shorter route. As usual, there were three different ratings (Light, Small, Classic). The light route was about 24 kilometers (550 meters in altitude) long. The Small approx. 38 kilometers (1,300 meters in altitude) and the Classic approx. 78 kilometers (2,500 meters in altitude), whereby the Small route had to be completed twice in the Classic classification.
In 2014 and 2015, a 3-day stage race was held, in which almost the entire Granitland route with up to 270 km was completed.
In 2016, the routes were further expanded, the Small and Classic routes were extended to 49 and 60 km and a new Xtreme route with 90 km was introduced in order to meet the general trend towards longer routes.
The Austrian state championships in the mountain bike marathon discipline are expected to be held in Kleinzell for the 20th anniversary in 2020.
European Championship 2011
On June 12, 2011, the UEC Mountain Bike Marathon European Championship was held as part of the Granite Marathon. Due to heavy rain the day before, the track was very soft and slippery. The Swede Pia Sunstedt prevailed among the women. Sally Bigham (GB) and Elena Giacomuzzi (ITA) took 2nd and 3rd place. Alexey Medvedev from Russia was the winner in the men's category. Jukka Vastaranta from Finland took second place, Tim Böhme from Germany came third.
Ratings
The ratings have been changed again and again over the years. The longest ratings were held in 2010 and 2011. The reason for this was the hosting of the European Championship. The following route lengths have been driven since 2016:
| Surname | length | Height difference |
|---|---|---|
| Xtreme | 90 kilometers | 3100 meters in altitude |
| Classic | 60 kilometers | 2000 meters in altitude |
| Small | 49 kilometers | 1500 meters in altitude |
| Light | 26 kilometers | 700 meters in altitude |
route
The 2011 European Mountain Bike Marathon Championships were held in Kleinzell . It was therefore necessary to completely redesign the previous route in order to meet the requirements of the European Cycling Federation. The European Championship course had to be a circuit where no point was hit twice. In addition, the winning time had to be over 4 hours. Until 2008, 2 laps of the small course were driven for the Classic classification.
Until 2009, the races were held on a 40-kilometer circuit. Depending on the rating, this lap was driven once or twice. The light competition also took place on this route, a 13-kilometer section was left out here and replaced by a short abbreviation. Many parts of the EM route ran on the sections already used in previous years. The main innovation was that the route went to some additional towns and villages north of Kleinzell.
The Classic competition (100 kilometers) started in Kleinzell. In order to split up the field at the beginning, various forest paths and roads in the local area of Kleinzell were used for the first 8 kilometers. At kilometer 8, a longer, sometimes very demanding single trail began, which led down to the Partenstein power station . There began an increase over the pressure pipelines to the village of Ramersberg. At kilometer 11 it went downhill again on a forest road to the Great Mühl . In the Mühltal, the route turned left towards Altenfelden . First a longer ascent on a forest path, then further on roads and short wooded areas through the local area from Altenfelden to the Altenfelden wildlife park. From there we continued on roads and paths in the direction of Kirchberg ob der Donau . At kilometer 25 a longer descent into the Danube valley began to the village of Obermühl. From here we continued with an ascent to Lembach im Mühlkreis . At 40 km the route crossed the main road (variant 5). From here it went on forest and meadow paths towards Putzleinsdorf . At 45 km a steep ascent began that leads to the Ameisberg . Half of the route was reached at the highest point on the mountain. This was followed by a 5-kilometer descent back to Putzleinsdorf and on to the Kleine Mühl to the village of Doppl. After a total of 70 kilometers, an ascent to Altenfelden in the village of Mairhof began here. Forest paths and roads lead to the local area of Altenfelden and from there a descent to the Neufelden reservoir . At 90 km a short but very steep climb began on a forest path in the direction of Kleinzell to the village of Apfelsbach. The last 10 kilometers led on roads, forest, forest and meadow paths through the Kleinzeller local area. At kilometer 95 you passed the Resi Lacke, shortly afterwards the quarries. The last climb before the finish was stopped for a separate mountain sprint classification. After passing through the marquee, the destination was reached again at the starting point after 100 kilometers.
Most of the routes for the other ratings are also on the Classic route. The small route turned off the long route in Altenfelden after the wildlife park. Thus the villages of Kirchberg, Lembach and Putzleinsdorf were not approached here. The light route followed the valley of the Große Mühl and did not turn left towards Altenfelden. The small route joined the long route in the local area of Altenfelden (kilometer 80 of the classic route). On the ascent to the village of Apfelsbach (km 90 of the Classic route), the light route also came back to the other two.
To ensure the safety of the participants, 118 marshals were placed on the route. There were six refreshment points where liquids and solid food were available for the participants. To ensure medical care, there was a Red Cross base in the start / finish area. There were also six stations on the route where Red Cross teams were posted.
winner
2012
| year | Winner 38 km | time | Winner 78 km | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Martina Deubler | 1:52:02 | Birgit Söllner | 4:06:43 |
| Bernhard Eisl | 1:32:57 | Lukas Buchli | 3:17:27 |
2009 to 2011
| year | Winner 50 km | time | Winner 100 km | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Manuela Grünzweil | 2:30:13 | Pia Sunstedt *) | 4:04:11 |
| Gernot Nussbaumer | 2:06:24 | Alexey Medvedev | 4:01:45 | |
| 2010 | Simone Hornegger | 2:50:46 | Theresia Kellermayr | 5:47:49 |
| Peter Cirkl | 2:07:58 | Roman Rametsteiner | 4:33:54 | |
| 2009 | Monika Schachl | 2:34:04 | Barbara Leubutsch | 7:08:27 |
| Florian Kremmair | 2:12:37 | Roman Rametsteiner | 4:36:10 |
- ) The women drove a shortened distance of 80 kilometers.
2003-2008
During this period, the route was not changed by the distance.
| year | Winner 40 km | time | Winner 80 km | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Eveline Egarter | 2:11:03 | Manuela Grünzweil | 4:25:11 |
| Peter Cirkl | 1:41:08 | Roman Rametsteiner | 3:20:09 | |
| 2007 | Lisi Unterbuschachner | 2:11:06 | Karolina Kozela | 4:13:07 |
| Hannes Huemer | 1:43:52 | Roman Rametsteiner | 3:19:58 | |
| 2006 | Erni Kobler | 2:24:24 | Doris Posch | 4:17:49 |
| Michael Kneidinger | 1:47:29 | Heinz Verbnjak | 3:20:09 | |
| 2005 | Irene Pfab | 2:18:10 | Manuela Grünzweil | 4:28:35 |
| Mario Reifenmüller | 1:45:29 | Roman Rametsteiner | 3:32:46 | |
| 2004 | Renate Koblmüller | 2:23:54 | Manuela Grünzweil | 4:31:10 |
| Richard Zinhauer | 1:45:07 | Alban Lakata | 3:26:19 | |
| 2003 | Madleine Vorbach | 2:18:42 | Manuela Grünzweil | 4:31:31 |
| Roland Landl | 1:45:16 | Roman Rametsteiner | 3:23:40 |
2001-2002
In these two years the route was not changed by the distance.
| year | Winner 38 km | time | Winner 76 km | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Madleine Vorbach | 2:11:16 | Andrea Michels-Smith | 4:14:11 |
| Mario Reifenmüller | 1:44:31 | Martin Fischerlehner | 3:10:05 | |
| 2001 | Karin Kondert | 3:08:12 | Manuela Grünzweil | 4:38:19 |
| Hannes Huemer | 2:12:51 | Martin Fischerlehner | 3:23:15 |
Sightseeing and cultural
The different routes of the granite marathon lead past several regional attractions.
Pressure pipelines Partenstein
Following the route, all route variants reach the pressure pipelines after approx. 9 kilometers that lead to the Partenstein storage power plant . On the ascent towards the village of Ramersberg, these 371 m long pipes are crossed twice. The pipes are fed from the Neufelden reservoir via an underground tunnel. The power plant is the oldest large hydropower plant in Austria and was built between 1919 and 1924.
Mühltal and Mühltal Bridge
→ Main article: Große Mühl At kilometer 11, all route variations reach the valley of the Große Mühl . Upstream you follow the river which in large parts of this section is untouched and natural. The participants of the short distances (45 and 27 kilometers) follow the Mühltal a little longer in different sections and cross under the Mühltal bridge, on which the Rohrbacher Straße B127 runs from Linz to Aigen in the Mühlkreis . This bridge was built in 1991-1993 and is 99 m high.
Little mill
→ Main article: Kleine Mühl In the village of Obermühl (approx. At kilometer 30) one arrives at the confluence of the Kleine Mühl in the Danube . The Kleine Mühl is followed briefly upstream. In this section of the river there are several old paper mills that have now been closed. In the past they used the energy of water to make paper. The Kleine Mühl is crossed twice more in the further course of the route.
Ameisberg
→ Main article: Ameisberg
From 2009 to 2011 the 100 km long classic route (EM route) led over the places Altenfelden, Kirchberg, Lembach and Putzleinsdorf to the Ameisberg. This mountain is a 941 m high peak in the northern Mühlviertel.
Neufelden reservoir
In the second half of the route, the 100-kilometer route led from Ameisberg back via Altenfelden down to Neufelden, where the Neufelden reservoir was reached at around 85 kilometers. The reservoir was part of the classic route from 2009 to 2011. It was built in the course of the power plant construction in Partenstein. The stowage is reached by an artificially created wall.
Resi paints
On the last sections of all route variants, the route leads past the Resi Lacke. It is a granite quarry that was abandoned in 1940 and has filled with water over the years. Today the area is owned by the community of Kleinzell and is a popular recreational area and bathing area for the population.
Granite quarries Kleinzell
At the end of each route, all participants drive through the granite quarry of Granitwerke Kleinzell. It is the last remaining quarry in Kleinzell in the Mühlkreis. Shortly before this quarry, the Classic route leads through the larger Poschacher quarry, which belongs to the neighboring municipality of Sankt Martin im Mühlkreis (Plöcking village). In recent years, heat records of up to 40 degrees Celsius have been set here on race days. Until 2008 all route variants led through both quarries, since 2009 only the 100-kilometer route.
4 Cross
→ Main article: 4 Cross
From 2005 to 2007, a 4-cross competition was held on the occasion of the granite marathon. The specially designed track did not meet the necessary requirements in the first year, so that the competition was quickly converted into a dual race with two drivers each. In 2006, as in the marathon discipline, the 4-Cross State Championship was held. In 2006 and 2007 the 4-cross competition was carried out as a floodlit race. The number of participants has been very low over the years, which prompted the organizer to discontinue the 4-cross competitions after 2007.
winner
| year | Ladies | Men's | Fun | Juniors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Angelika Hohenwarter | Peter Fernbach | Johannes Hwang | Stefan Fernbach |
| 2006 | Angelika Hohenwarter | Georg Engl | Florian Gottschlich | Georg Sieder |
| 2005 | no women's competition | Roman Lagler | Matthias Schön | Markus Pekoll |
Junior competition
On the day before the marathon, there are annual youth competitions for a wide variety of age groups. The division for the competition is based on age groups in the groups U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17. A circuit has to be completed which is adapted to the age groups. The older the participants get, the higher the difficulty of the respective routes. All age groups start and end in the finish area of the granite marathon. The first and the last sections of the route are therefore the same for all age groups.
Mountain bike all year round
The success of the granite marathon and the associated popularity of cycling in the region prompted the community of Kleinzell and four other neighboring communities to found the Granitland Association to promote tourism in 2004. This association has been running mountain bike routes all year round since 2005. Each municipality has a short variant in its own local area. Originally these were between 8 and 23 kilometers long. The regional route ran through all participating communities and was 50 kilometers long. In particular, the local routes Kleinzell and Altenfelden ran largely on the racetrack of the granite marathon.
In recent years, the route network has been expanded and newly equipped with distinctive red signs. The area now includes 10 circuits in 25 different communities with a range of 8 to 78 kilometers (330-1940 meters in altitude) as well as the large granite country circuit with 258 kilometers at 6630 meters in altitude. The route network now covers more than 700 kilometers. Parts of the routes in the municipality of Kleinzell, Altenfelden and Kirchberg are still used for the granite marathon.