On Sunday 31 August the 44th Ötztaler Cycling Marathon took place for a lucky 4281 entry lottery winners (25,000 applied) in Solden Austria. Widely regarded as the one of the toughest cycling events in the world, the epic 227 kilometer course on the Austrian-Italian border includes over 5500 meters of climbing.

It was the German Janine Meyer who was the day’s star, riding an incredible race to win her third Otztaler title with a dominant 17 minute lead ahead of the next woman. The 38 year-old climbing specialist finished in 7:22:32, setting a new course record by almost 4 minutes. Eva Schien claimed second place at 7:39:46, followed by Belinda Holzer 7:51:40, former winner Catherine Rossmann 7:51:40 and Roberta Bussone 7:58:31.

Former UCI MTB World Champion Daniel Federspiel rolled under the Otztaler finish banner for the men, leaving a trail of former winners in his wake. The 38 year-old Austrian finished solo in 6:48:55, over 3 minutes ahead of a small chase group. Jonas Holzknecht 6:52:26 won the sprint for second place, followed closely by Matthias Reutimann, Andreas Isele and Stefano Cecchini. Former winners Jack Burke (2024, 2022) and Johnny Hoogerland (2021) finished 10+ minutes in arrears to claim 12th and 14th place respectively.

Further back in the race police report shortly after starting a 33 year-old competitor was involved in a serious crash and flown by rescue helicopter to hospital in Innsbruck. The rider’s condition is unknown.

Complete Otztaler Radmarathon results HERE

Photo Credit: Facebook

© 2019-2025 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily