Double win for Switzerland: Urs Huber and Ariane Lüthi win the 26th Ischgl Ironbike Marathon

We now know the winners of the 26th Ischgl Ironbike Marathon: After 76.8 kilometres and 3,700 m elevation gain in one of Europe’s toughest mountain bike marathon races, 
Urs Huber in the men’s race and Ariane Lüthi in the ladies’ race claimed a place on the podium.  

Save the Date: The 27th Ischgl Ironbike will be held from August 5th to 6th, 2022.

At the 26th Ischgl Ironbike Marathon, 1,000 mountain bikers competed from August 4th to 7th, 2021 in various individual and stage races as well as on the Ironbike-routes – “Hard” over 76.8 kilometres, “Medium” over 49.7 kilometres or “Light” over 29.6 kilometres – for valuable seconds. Exciting contests, such as the four-part UCI Stage Race S1, the night-time Hillclimb “Ischgl Alpenhaus Trophy” or the “Ironbike Kids & Juniors Trophy” were all enthusiastically received by both riders and spectators.

Gold for Urs Huber and Ariane Lüthi at the 26th Ischgl Ironbike Marathon
On August 7th, pros and amateurs demonstrated their personal bests at the 26th Ischgl Ironbike Marathon on three routes of varying challenge. Depending on fitness level, there was a choice between the routes Hard (76.8 kilometres and 3,700 m elevation gain), Medium (49.7 kilometres and 2,098 m elevation gain) and Light (29.6 kilometres and 849 m elevation gain). The supreme discipline was won by Urs Huber from Switzerland with a time of 3:53.41,4 in the men’s and Ariane Lüthi also from Switzerland with a time of 5:00.37,2  in the ladies’ race. Gold over the Medium-distance was taken by Wolfgang Pfister with a time of 2:33.02,7 and Tinetta Strimer from Switzerland with a time of 2:57.59,0. Taking top spots on the podium for the Light-route were Luca Hertner from Germany with a time of 1:10.06,2 and Paulina Spindler also from Germany with a time of 1:25.39,3.

UCI S1 stage race
Those who had set their sights on the overall win in the Ischgl Ironbike Stage Race S1, and wanted to pick up UCI-points, had to complete four race-formats. Altogether, 90 competitors in the categories “individual time trial”, “Alpenhaus Trophy”, “Short Track” and “Ironbike Hard” lined up for the start. At the end, all four individual times were added up and the winners announced. For both the men and ladies, points were awarded in the categories pros and amateurs. The well-deserved top spot in the pros’ category was won by Urs Huber from Switzerland in the men’s and Ariane Lüthi also from Switzerland in the ladies’ race. The amateurs’ category was won by Dominik Schranz from Austria in the men’s and Bianca Somavilla also from Austria in the ladies’ race.

Silvretta MTB King and Queen 2021
This year’s mountain bike crowns for the majesties Silvretta MTB King and Queen 2021 were bestowed in Ischgl. To determine the winners, the times for completing the M3 Montafon MTB Marathon on July 31st and the Ischgl Ironbike Marathon on August 7th, 2021 were added up to a combined overall time. The fastest on the routes “M³ Extrem and Ironbike Hard” and “M² Challenging and Ironbike Medium” were crowned. To give all amateurs a fair chance, the category “M³ Extrem and Ironbike Hard” awarded points separately for amateurs and pros. This year’s majesties in the category pro “M³ Extreme and Ironbike Hard” are Frans Claes from Belgium in the men’s and Adelheid Morath from Germany in the ladies’ race. Among the amateurs contesting the “M³ Extreme and Ironbike Hard”, Jon Stiekema took home the crown and the title “MTB King”. In the category “M² Challenging and Ironbike Medium “, Wolfgang Pfister in the men’s and Alexandra Sleegers in the ladies’ race could rejoice over the crowns and associated titles of Silvretta MTB Prince and Princess 2021.

Night-time chase at the Alpenhaus Trophy
The night-time Hillclimb attracted 134 mountain bikers to the start. Starters could line up for the “Alpenhaus Trophy” as an individual race or as part of the UCI S1 stage-race. On the 7.65-kilometre-long route covering almost 1,000 m elevation gain, Andreas Seewald from  Germany in the men’s and Ariane Lüthi from Switzerland in the ladies’ race successfully outdid the opposition.

Young mountain bike talents get a whiff of racing air 
Just like the big ones: At the “Ironbike Kids & Juniors Trophy” on August 6th, kids and juniors aged 5 to 16, with a 90 heads counting starting field, showed that they were definitely a force to be reckoned with in the future.