Austrian Winter Downhill Series

Racing downhill in winter is nothing new. Not in the Alps, not in the Rockies, not elsewhere. But the idea of a downhill racing series solely on snow is relatively fresh. The Austrian mountain bike magazine LINES has teamed up with four race organizers and created "LINES schneefraesn" (which is the German word for snow blow). Lienz, Virgen, Leogang and Semmering are the venues on the small race calendar.

Tracks are ranging from steep skiing world cup slopes to sledge runs that offer massive drifting potential. At the end, one female and one male overall champion will be crowned.

Top notch contenders for the title have already made their ambitions clear: street trials phenomenon Fabio Wibmer will want to do more than just defend victory at his hometown event. Downhill racer Markus Pekoll is envisaging some events and Austrian pocket rocket Manuel Gruber is eagerly waiting for snow, to get some proper training on the right surface in.

More informations about LINES schneefraesn can be found on www.lines-mag.at/2015/schneefraesn.


Events
2016/16/01 Ride Hard on Snow, Lienz (Osttirol)
2016/23/01 Snow-Downhill, Virgen (Osttirol)
2016/29/01 Scott Snow Downhill Race, Leogang (Salzburg)
2016/12/03 White Down, Semmering (Lower Austria)


Ride Hard on Snow, Lienz
2016/16/01. At the very first stop riders will be confronted with a very intimidating, thrilling track. Where world cup skiing ladies like Mikaela Shiffrin carve down the incredibly steep slope, bikers will fly over jumps and through berms. During qualifying speeds up to 45 mph are expected to be reached, whereas in the finals riders will compete against each other in flood light.
Ride Hard on Snow Webseite

Snow-Downhill, Virgen
2016/23/01 The - hopefully - snowy Osttirol also plays host for the second event of the winter racing series, but move from the capital Lienz to the quaint town of Virgen. 1.3 miles of a beautifully driftable sledge run, pimped with manmade jumps. Whoever slides through the finish line first will bag the 2.000,- euros of price money.
Snow-Downhill Webseite

Scott Snow Downhill Race, Leogang
2016/29/01 When the cracks of the FMB World Tour travel to Leogang for the very first competition of the year, White Style, they will not be alone. Alongside the massive jumps, LINES schneefraesn riders will compete head to head in the Scott Snow Downhill Race.
Scott Snow Downhill Race Webseite

White Down, Semmering
2016/12/03 After a tight racing schedule in January, riders will have time to take a deep breath and collect strengths for the grande finale in March at Bikepark Semmering. Whilst teams of skiers/snowboarders and mountain bikers will race for victory at White Down, only times on two wheels count for the overall standings.
Bikepark Semmering Facebook

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MENTIONS: @lines / @wibmerfabio

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