More than 700 mountain bikers from 19 nations ensured an impressive number of participants at the 29th edition of the Ischgl Ironbike. In one of the toughest mountain bike marathon races in Europe, Claudia Peretti from Italy and Austrian Hermann Pernsteiner won the extreme distance against top international riders from several nations on Saturday.
The Ischgl Ironbike is regarded as one of the toughest mountain bike races in Europe and, in addition to the Extreme course (70 km / 3,400 m elevation gain), also runs over the Light (25 km / 660 m elevation gain), Medium (44 km / 1,890 m elevation gain) and Hard (59 km / 2,720 m elevation gain) distances along historic smugglers' trails through the impressive natural scenery of the Silvretta massif. The four Ironbike race routes were open to all riders, and professionals could collect points for the ÖRV Austria Marathon Cup and the "Mountain Bike Challenge".
Hermann Pernsteiner secured a local success in the extreme distance. The Lower Austrian, who now rides for Team Felt Felbermayr on the road, took victory in Ischgl with a total time of 3 hours 39 minutes. Italian Lorenzo Samparisi came in second, 6 minutes behind. In third place was Frans Claes from Switzerland. Daniel Geismayr in fourth place was another Austrian in the top field. The best Tyrolean was Pernsteiner's team-mate Daniel Federspiel.
In the women's race, the Italian Claudia Peretti wins after 4 hours 45 minutes, clearly ahead of the Czech Milena Kalasova and the German Gloria Baier-Hänsel. The best Austrians were the two Upper Austrians Clara and Sabine Sommer in 4th and 5th place.
Federspiel and Daubermann win the short track race
Friday's opening short track race was just as exciting as the marathon on Saturday. Daniel Federspiel from Tyrol won the men's race and Luisa Daubermann from Germany won the women's race. In addition to the elite riders, the youngsters were also able to show off their skills in the Ironbike Kids & Juniors Trophy presented by Volksbank Tirol.
"We are delighted that so many participants took part in the 29th edition of the Ischgl Ironbike. From the youngest to the elite, there were great performances," says Alexander von der Thannen, Chairman of the Paznaun-Ischgl TVB.
The event was supported by the tourism association's partners, including Simplon, official bike partner of the Tourism Region Paznaun - Ischgl, Volksbank Tirol and Cuore as clothing partner for the Ischgl Ironbike.
Silvretta MTB King and Queen 2024
The Silvretta MTB King and Silvretta MTB Queen were crowned again this year. The combined classification from participation in the M³ Montafon Mountain Bike Marathon and the Ischgl Ironbike was held over the distances M³ extreme and Ironbike Extreme (King) as well as M³ extreme and Ironbike Hard (Queen). Daniel Geismayr (AUT) and Nicole Tschann (SUI) took the titles here. The Silvretta Prince and Princess titles went to K. Daniel (RSA) and Susan Visscher (NED). Both were honoured with royal prize money.
Results in detail: https://www.datasport.com/live/ranking/?racenr=26714