The weather turned out to be perfect - with warm temperatures and long summer evenings, Flachau confirmed its reputation as one of the leading e-bike destinations in the Austrian Alps.

The premiere of the Flachau E-Bike Festival was not just the season opener of the E-Bike World Tour 2022. Rather, the varied festival program was aimed at e-bike enthusiasts of all kinds. E-bike tests, gourmet tours, discovery tours and races for riders of all abilities awaited them. Throughout the weekend, you could experience the latest e-bike technologies and some of the world's best e-bike athletes - both at the popular e-bike test center and at the E-Tour of Salzburger Land, a UCI stage race.

The fans enjoyed the privilege of seeing the reigning UCI E-MTB world champions Jérôme Gilloux (FRA) and Nicole Göldi (SUI) in action at the E-Tour of Salzburger Land. The crowning glory of the race was the exciting night stage, which led around the center of Flachau.

With several timed and liaison stages as well as a neutral tech zone for repairs and battery swaps, the E-Tour of Salzburger Land challenged riders from the professional and amateur sectors. They had to master a high alpine route with forest paths, technical and steep single trails as well as rapid descents. Göldi and Gilloux had to fight hard, especially in the final stages of the race, to keep the strong competition at bay at the start of the EBWT 2022. In addition to Göldi, Nathalie Schneitter (SUI) and EBWT defending champion Léa Deslandes (FRA) finished third on the women's podium. Gilloux finished on the podium with Andrea Garibbo (ITA) and third-placed Kenny Muller (FRA).

Results

Test and enjoy

Professional e-bike technology was available to try out at the test center in the Festival Village. Leading brands such as Haibike, Ghost, Lapierre, Commencal, KTM and Trek provided a total of 300 e-MTB, e-Road and e-Gravel models. This provided the ideal set-up for testing an e-bike on different routes or different models on the same route.

Those who wanted to explore the mountain landscape around Flachau could choose from various options. The discovery tours led along forest and meadow paths to mountain huts and beautiful viewpoints. The black discovery tour, which could be completed with an experienced guide, took participants along technical single trails to remote waterfalls.Just as popular was the gourmet tour, which offered a curated "ride and dine" experience: five culinary stops awaited along the scenic, easy route, where you could enjoy regional specialties such as Buchteln or honey schnapps.

Bosch eMTB Challenge

In the final race of the weekend, the Bosch eMTB Challenge on Sunday, advanced and experienced riders battled against the clock on a challenging course and proved their skills in e-bike handling, navigation and battery management.

Although they already had two days of racing under their belts, a number of riders from the E-Tour Salzburger Land also rode in the Bosch eMTB Challenge, including local hero Benjamin Pichler from Radstadt (AUT). In the men's competition, Portugal's Tiago Ladeira came out on top ahead of his compatriot Emanuel Pombo and France's Kenny Muller. Laura Charles (PRT) won the women's competition ahead of Greta Weithaler (ITA) and Elke Rabeder (AUT).

Results

Kids on E

The youngest riders were among the most eager riders at the Flachau E-Bike Festival. They were able to let off steam in the KidsZone by Intersport under the supervision of two attentive e-bike coaches. There were not only numerous bikes available for the youngsters for an introduction to e-biking, but also an easy circuit.

Après-bike in Flachau also had plenty to offer away from the e-bikes. Austrian Red Bull athlete Tom Oehler put on a spectacular trial bike show and the official Flachau E-Bike Festival Party by Haibike saw the party go on into the night.The E-Bike World Tour now moves on to the second stage of the series in France, where the Tignes-Val d'Isère E-Bike Festival (July 29-31) and the eagerly awaited two-day E-Tour de Haute Tarentaise for professionals and advanced amateurs await.ebikeworldtour.com