As is well known, history tends to repeat itself at certain intervals. This applies not only to historical facts but also to my annual race events. As a marathon runner, there’s a certain affinity for enduring hours of monotonous and painful suffering. What could be a better fit than the toughest MTB marathon? The Salzkammergut Trophy A-Distance is well-known among marathon enthusiasts. It signifies absolute toughness and is, not least due to the sheer facts of just over 200 km and 7,000 meters of elevation gain, a brutal challenge.
I’ve ridden this course a few times already. Except for last year, it has always ended positively for me. Although “positive” can be hard to grasp from an outsider’s perspective. When you explain what you put yourself through, you’re likely to receive a shake of the head in 95% of cases.
Nevertheless, the A-Distance was once again on the agenda this year. After all, it provides the opportunity to ride almost all parts of the other courses.
As always, the days leading up to the Trophy were spent anxiously checking every possible weather app. This year, it quickly became clear that the weather would be nearly perfect. However, the Friday before the Trophy saw a heavy downpour and a rapid drop in temperature.
Trophy Saturday began, as always, at three in the morning. On the roof of the camper, I could hear a faint drumming of rain. However, it was expected to clear up quickly. So, I didn’t even take a rain jacket with me to the start. In the starting block, some people around me were not only wearing rain jackets but also rain pants. Doubts started creeping in a bit.
But once the race started, all that was forgotten. We immediately headed into the first climb toward Weißenbach, and the fun of riding began. I had to keep reminding myself not to overpace. The drizzle from earlier was also gone after the first few kilometers. Due to the recent rainfalls, the trail was muddy in places, especially the section with the trails toward Bad Ischl, which was quite soft and slushy.
On the return from Bad Ischl, a competitor in front of me lost his nerve and decided to brake abruptly on a fairly fast trail. I had no chance to avoid him, as I was practically glued to his rear wheel. I found myself on the ground rather unceremoniously. Great. Somehow, I seemed to manage to fall at nearly every marathon this year, I thought. The end result was that the Garmin mount broke, and the device ended up in my jersey pocket. This was quite an inconvenience for me over such distances since I tend to overpace.
So, it was kilometers and elevation meters again toward Bad Goisern and the second pass at the Weißenbach aid station, which also marked the halfway point. As usual, from here, it was toward Salzberg and Hallstätter See. This year, there was very little traffic on the Weißenbach loop, and I had managed to gain a substantial lead compared to previous years.
At the start of Hallstätter See, a large group of A-distance riders gathered. In true Belgian style, we headed toward the Salzberg aid station with considerable speed. Until Salzberg, the race felt more like a tour. Even at Salzberg, I had significantly fewer problems this time. Thanks to my coach for all the work!
At the Roßalm, all the weight lifted off my shoulders. From here, it was just a matter of rolling casually to the finish. By this point, I had already used up about an hour less than usual, which was partly due to the weather.
I even managed to overtake a few A-distance riders in the final kilometers without any issues. In all other participations, I would have been clinically dead by this point and barely crawling toward Goisern in survival mode.
So, I crossed the finish line 1 hour and 12 minutes faster and even landed in the top third. For me, this was the most brilliant and perfect Salzkammergut Trophy ever.
In the evening, there was a little surprise. In the Slow Motion team standings, we, with Dowe, took first place by a large margin.
see you next year 😉
