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For the 24th time Krumbach and the Bucklige Welt was the scene of the Bike the Bugles MTB Marathon. Just in time for the race weekend, after weeks of midsummer weather, there was a sudden fall in temperature. On the day before the event there was a lot of rain and on the race day itself the temperatures were clearly in the single digits, in addition there was continuous rain. But the real bikers could not be stopped by that.
Chase-teamrider Manfred started as defending champion on the classic distance. He was part of the leading group from the very beginning and was able to stand out from the rest of the drivers in the first third together with Philipp Wetzelberger and Andreas Waldmann.
On a short uphill running passage towards Hutwisch a first preliminary decision was made. Manfred was able to open up a small gap of a few seconds. Although he didn’t push the pace any further, but kept the rythm, his fellow competitors couldn’t close the hole anymore. On the contrary: Although Manfred didn’t attack and wasn’t at his limit yet, the gap got bigger and bigger.
The experienced athlete didn’t want to miss this chance: When he noticed that his competitors were getting weaker, he used the opportunity accordingly. He increased his speed and continued to extend his lead. At the finish line he could celebrate his third ‘Bike the Bugles’ victory in a row with a time of 3 hours and 13 minutes and was very surprised himself by this fabulous time in these difficult conditions.
On August 11th Kirchschlag in the Buckligen Welt was the venue of the Schlossberg XC. The traditional event was held for the 17th time this year. For Chase team rider Manfred, this race is always something special, as he comes from the town and was already at the start of the very first edition of this event in 2001, at that time still in the student class.
He won each of the last three races and was therefore again the favourite this year. The track was very deep and muddy due to heavy rainfall the night before the race, which made it extremely exhausting for all participants. Nevertheless, Manfred took the lead of the field immediately after the start and set the pace. Only one rider was able to follow him for a fairly long time, but on the ascents it quickly emerged who was the stronger of the two on this day. After 1 hour and 9 minutes Manfred crossed the finish line as the winner and thus lived up to his role as favourite.
At the end of June the Kitzalpbike MTB Festival took place in Kirchberg in Tyrol, for the 23rd time this year. At 9 a.m. the long distances started together, more than 1,000 participants waited for long and steep climbs, fast downhills and demanding single trails.
Chase team rider Manfred started at the Austrian National Championship on the longest distance with 90 kilometres and over 4,000 metres of altitude difference. On the first mountain he found a good rhythm and was well in the race. But already at the second long ascent up to Ehrenbachhöhe it didn’t run quite as smoothly, the legs didn’t turn really loose anymore. Already then Manfred suspected that today would be a “long” day. The route did not become any easier afterwards, it went on over the Mausefalle to the Hahnenkamm and to the Pengelstein, before after a longer descent the last ascent waited for the riders – again it went up to the Ehrenbachhöhe at 1,800 meters sea level.
At the end, after more than 4,000 meters of altitude difference, the more than 20 minutes long and demanding downhill run over the Fleckalmtrail waited for the riders. Manfred reached the finish after almost 5 ½ hours of driving time. He was exhausted and tired and at the same time disappointed about his performance – unfortunately things did not go well for him on that day. His goal was a time under 5 hours, which would definitely have been possible on a “normal” day.
On 7 & 8 April Manfred competed in the two UCI races in Premantura, Croatia. As a C1 category race, Saturday’s Cross Country was a showdown for the top international athletes. The demanding route with steep rises and many stony trails demanded everything of the drivers. Manfred had a good start, however, with a strong second half of the race and above all thanks to a fantastic final lap he could still work his way forward.
On Sunday Manfred started at the marathon, also this competition was categorized as UCI race and accordingly strongly occupied. The competition for Manfred was similar to the day before: A good but not perfect start followed by a very constant race and a very fast final phase. In the end, he was only about 7 minutes behind the winner – significantly less than in cross country – with significantly longer driving time. Next weekend’s race in Nals will be the next classic on the race calendar.