Institutionalization from the top

In August 2025, the newly created Austrian Federal Mountain Bike Coordination Office began its work. Four ministries and all nine federal states are funding this institution, which is to develop a nationwide mountain bike strategy by the end of 2026. Karl Morgenbesser, the man behind the Wexl Trail Area, and former Intersport Austria CEO Thorsten Schmitz are two proven experts who have been awarded the contract for this pioneering work. They have until 2033 and a total budget of 2.8 million euros at their disposal to develop the strategy, implement it with the involvement of all stakeholders and turn it into reality.

Organization from the bottom up

The mountain bike scene itself was also very active in 2025. The Austrian branch of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) was founded. The declared aim of IMBA Austria is to "simply be able to bike in peace". To this end, the Austria-wide platform will make collected knowledge available and support local initiatives in finding solutions through dialog. Mountain biking should become a socially established year-round sport that can be enjoyed legally throughout the country and in harmony with nature and all those involved.

Resistance

Since April 2025, it has been possible to support the new referendum "Mountainbiken Freies WEGERECHT" (sic!) online in Austria. The initiator is Gerald Simon, a trained forester and political scientist. As an enthusiastic mountain biker, he finally wants to indulge in his hobby without the uneasy feeling in his stomach that he is doing something wrong while cycling. Because in Austria, cycling in the forest is generally prohibited. He has until fall 2026 to collect a total of 100,000 signatures so that parliament has to deal with the issue. Austrian citizens can support the popular petition online.
 

Austria's first mountain bike lift
 

Mountain biking is the new skiing. Even if the self-proclaimed number one skiing nation likes to deny climate change, the first regions have recognized the signs of the times and are focusing on biking as a model for the future. The Wexl Arena in St. Corona is a prime example. Due to a lack of snow, the ski resort near Vienna has increasingly turned to mountain biking in recent years - with great success. There are still a few small slopes when there is enough snow, but more and more trails are now accessible all year round - and the trend is rising. In summer 2025, a new T-bar lift was built exclusively for bike park operations. This has never happened before in Austria.
 

Bankruptcies
 

Unfortunately, 2025 was also a year in which trails disappeared. The gates of Trailland Miesenbach in Eastern Styria closed for good after the Christmas break in 2024/2025. For economic reasons, the family running the inn, the lift and the trails had to draw a line in the sand. The Bikepark Königsberg in Lower Austria, where the Austrian Downhill State Championships were held in May 2025, is also closing. Bankruptcy proceedings were opened against the operating company Königsberg-Hollenstein Skilifte GmbH in November
 
 

New bike park
 

Good news comes from Puchberg in the south of Lower Austria. The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new Alpenbikepark Schneeberg took place here in May 2025. The first trails will open in spring 2026 and all 15 kilometers of trails should be ready by 2028. The freeride line is particularly exciting, as the Rampage-experienced C-Dog, aka Clemens Kaudela, is personally involved in the digging.
 

Birthday of the Bike Republic Sölden
 

The west of Austria is dominated by tourist and therefore paid mountain bike offers. One of the best known is the Bike Republic Sölden, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2025. In the Sölden ski resort in the Tyrolean Ötztal, 68 kilometers of lines and trails were created in a decade. With the Swatch Nines, the Bike Republic has secured a major international event that is intended to generate publicity in the bike community.
 

Mountain bike competitions are Austria's most popular bike racing disciplines
 

In 2025, the Auner Austrian Gravity Series was the bike racing series with the most participants in Austria with a license or Cycling Austrian Member Card requirement. The eight-stop downhill racing series had 575 participants. In the overall ranking of all bike racing series, with and without compulsory licensing, the downhillers took second place. Behind the Top Six MTB Marathons (721 participants) and ahead of the Trailpartie enduro series (373 participants).

More trails that can be ridden all year round

In terms of trails, the east and south of Austria have been particularly active. In Carinthia, a number of new trails have been created on the Petzen, Turracher Höhe and Faaker See. In Obermillstatt, bike pro Stefan Müller has initiated a new trail park. Austria's southernmost province has been developing more and more into a mountain bike insider tip since the lake.bike trails near Villach. Just like the easternmost province of Austria, Burgenland. Here, the Burgenland Trails, a mountain bike area that can be ridden all year round and offers a selection of European trail-building art, was created on the only mountain a good 800 meters high. Thanks to numerous local initiatives, the number of trails that are open 365 days a year is growing.