← All eventsSalzkammergut Trophy
Austria's biggest and toughest MTB marathon festival in Bad Goisern, with seven routes from ~22km to the ~209km / ~7,050m A route — one of the hardest MTB marathons in Europe. Next date approximate — verify.
One of the hardest MTB marathons in Europe. The A route is 209km and 7,050m of climbing, all off-road, through the Salzkammergut mountains of Upper Austria in mid-July.
It's a festival, not one race. Seven routes fan out from Bad Goisern, from a ~22km taster up to the full A. The shorter options are proper marathons in their own right.
The maths bites. Most A-route finishers are out 12 to 16 hours or more. This isn't a marathon you race. It's an off-road ultra you have to pace, fuel and survive.
Is Salzkammergut Trophy for you?
- Experienced mountain bikers with a deep off-road base, not first-timers. The A route needs seasons of built durability and real handling under it.
- Riders who fuel with discipline. Under-fuelling the early hours, not a lack of fitness, is the number-one cause of long-route DNFs.
- Confident technical descenders. Bike handling fades late in the day and the alpine descents never get easier when you're tired.
- Anyone who wants a route that fits them. Ride the C at ~76km or B at ~121km and build toward the A over seasons.
Training plan for Salzkammergut Trophy
A training plan for Salzkammergut Trophy isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- 7,050m of climbing on loose, steep surfaces, over and over again
- 209km on MTB terrain, which fatigues far harder than the same distance on road
- Technical descending under deep fatigue, when your handling is already fading
- Self-management over a very long day: pacing, fuelling and mental resilience decide finishes
- Long MTB endurance rides, 4 to 8 hours off-road, Z2 with the climbs ridden at tempo
- Back-to-back big weekends, 5-7hr Saturday plus 3-5hr Sunday, for cumulative fatigue
- Sweet-spot climbs on the MTB, 3-4 x 15-25min at 88-94% FTP on off-road pitches
- Fuel-practice long rides rehearsing 80 to 100g of carbs per hour until your gut copes
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
