The 3rd Kitzbühel Cycle Marathon took place over the weekend. The great performances of the athletes and some records will be remembered.
5:45 AM in Kitzbühel’s Vorderstadt – the gates to the starting blocks open and the athletes take their positions in their starting blocks. With almost 1100 registered starters, the 3rd edition set a new participation record.
The first row was very high-caliber this year. In addition to KRM ambassador Andy Schleck, the previous year’s winners Johnny Hoogerland and Monika Fritz, Red Bull athlete Paul Verbnjak, and local hero Patrick Hagenaars joined the ranks.
At 6:30 AM, the starting gun fired and the neutral start headed towards the end of town, from where the very strong field pulled away to the first Wiesbauer mountain classification on the Pass Thurn. In Pinzgau, a large leading group clearly broke away, where things got heated despite the rainy weather until the ascent to the Kitzbüheler Horn. In the final climb, the previous year’s runner-up Paul Verbnjak clearly dominated and crowned himself with a new track record as the new overall winner of the KRM Klassik – closely followed by his compatriot Daniel Ganahl and the Canadian Jack Burke. Eva Schien was the fastest woman, also with a new track record, ahead of Ils van der Moeren and Svenja de Greef on the podium.
The fight for the first podium of the KRM Kitz powered by Gebrüder Weiss with finish in Kitzbühel’s Vorderstadt was also impressive. There, the Austrian Daniel Pechtl won in the men’s category and the Italian Maria Pechlaner in the women’s category.
“Congratulations to all finishers! You fought, cursed, and triumphed. Everyone who faces this challenge and masters it is a winner!”
Franz Steinberger & Marina Janda
Organisational management
