A fatal accident occurred around 7:30 p.m. last Pentecost Sunday in the finish area of the Leogang Bike Park. Three hours after closing time, an 18-year-old German downhill rider crashed on a black-marked trail and sustained fatal injuries. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the accident. On behalf of the bike park’s operators, Managing Director Kornel Grundner expressed his condolences to the victim’s family. At the same time, he urged all visitors to take the safety instructions seriously and to ride in the bike park only with appropriate protective gear. According to media reports, the young man involved in the accident was reportedly “inadequately” equipped—though exactly what that means remains unclear. Initial investigations, however, reportedly indicate that there were no issues with the trail itself that could have caused the accident.

The Leogang Bike Park had just revised and improved its safety concept. This was because, in June of the previous year, two fatal accidents had occurred on the “Hot Shots” jump line, which is also marked as black. A 54-year-old Swiss man had fallen after a ramp and struck his head violently. Shortly thereafter, a 33-year-old Latvian also suffered a serious accident after a jump, sustaining fatal injuries. In the 25 years since the Leogang Bike Park was established, there have thus been a total of six fatal accidents, three of them since 2025. 

Safety measures will be further improved

The renowned World Cup bike park attracts 100,000 visitors per year and sees up to 3,500 runs per day. Given these large numbers of downhill riders, the accident rate is comparable to that of skiing, Managing Director Grundner explained to the media. Nevertheless, efforts are constantly being made to improve safety in the bike park. In light of the most recent accident, the park will now focus more closely on the issue of using the trails outside of operating hours and how to regulate this activity.

In general, there has been an increase in accidents resulting in injuries in mountain biking, says Susanna Mitterer, responsible for alpine accident research and statistics at the Alpine Safety Board in Innsbruck: “But in principle, all alpine accident figures are currently rising because simply more people are out and about in alpine areas. Including on mountain bikes.” The number of fatalities among alpine sports enthusiasts, however, remains at a “consistently low level.” Mountain biking is no exception. In the 2022/2023 season—which is always calculated from the beginning of November to the end of October—a total of 1,069 people were injured while mountain biking in Austria’s mountains. In the 2023/2024 season, the figure was slightly lower at 995—the figures for 2024/2025 are not yet available. Mitterer notes, however, that particularly in mountain biking, not all accidents involving injuries are reported as alpine accidents because many people are still able to ride down to the valley on their own after having an accident. In hiking, the number of accident victims who must be rescued because they can no longer make it down to the valley on their own is significantly higher.

Fatal mountain biking accidents are very rare

There is a clear trend among mountain bikers who have died in accidents, as Mitterer explains. While there were still 21 deaths resulting from mountain biking accidents in Austria in 2020/2021, this number dropped to 12 in 2021/2022, to 11 in 2022/2023, and to 10 again in 2023/2024. It should be noted that these statistics also include deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease that occurred while the deceased were riding their mountain bikes. A closer look at the circumstances of the accidents reveals that of the 12 mountain biking fatalities in the 2021/2022 season, a total of 5 were attributable to cardiovascular disorders. In 2023/2024, of the 10 mountain bikers who died in accidents, 7 were riding on forest trails at the time of the accident, 2 were in a bike park, and 1 was on a singletrack.