Mountain bike orientening: Kirchbach becomes the World Cup center 2025!

Mountain bike orientening: Kirchbach becomes the World Cup center 2025!

The anticipation of an exciting return is great: The Mountainbike Orienteering World Cup takes place again in Kirchbach after a seven-year break. On June 7, 2025, the audience and participants can look forward to exciting competitions, which have become increasingly popular not only in Austria, but internationally. The combination of orientation run and mountain biking inspires more and more sports enthusiasts, such as meinbezirk.at reports .

For the participants of the World Cup, it is important to drive numerous checkpoints entered on a detailed orientation card. This big challenge not only requires nimble legs, but also precise orientation skills. In recent years, Austria has made a name for itself internationally in this sport. No wonder that the quality of the competitions attracts many athletes. The Union Waldviertel orientation center is also active and its Austrian state championship about the long distance takes place at the same time on Sunday.

international competition and local highlights

At the competitions in Kirchbach, two races are held for the “World Masters Series”. This is an exclusive row in which only 20 races worldwide are held per year. The World Masters Series will accompany as great international events as the European Championships in Lithuania and the World Championship in Spain. There are many ways to win points and medals, especially for the participants of the age groups aged 35 and over. The best placement results in 35 points, the first places are also evaluated by direct encounters and past competition results.

But Kirchbach offers more than just exciting competitions. Local events, such as the play "Zwelfeläuten" in the Schönbach Klosterhof or the summer Oktoberfest in Echsenbach, contribute to the cultural diversity of the region. In addition, a daily overview of the cheapest petrol and diesel prices in Lower Austria provides information, so that drivers will also get their money's worth. A little tip: If you are refueling in the morning, you can often get the best prices, as petrol stations are only allowed to increase your prices every day at 12 noon.

Mountainbike orienteering, or MTBO for short, has become an emerging and dynamic sport in recent years. The competition usually takes place in forest areas and requires physical fitness as well as concentration. The participants receive a special orientation card scale of 1: 15,000, which enables them to select the route between the individual control points independently.

tradition and further development

The roots of this fascinating sport go back to the 1950s when elements of cycling and bike tourist all -around combat were combined. At the latest in the 1990s, the sport experienced a huge boost with the advent of mountain bikes. Since then, the character of the competitions has grown continuously and has developed further. wikipedia emphasizes that MTBO world championships have been held since 2002 and are now popular in many countries.

The upcoming competition in Kirchbach will not only be a unique opportunity for the sporting participants, but also for the region to present themselves internationally and make the fascination of the mountain bike orientening tangible. Stay tuned and don't miss the exciting developments!