The Supreme Court in Vienna has thus ruled in favor of the plaintiff landowners - although the courts of first instance have ruled in favor of Upmove twice. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Austria and its decisions are final. In other words: Anyone who publishes mountain bike tours in Austria with single trails that are not specifically designated for mountain bikers is liable to prosecution. Even in the case of Upmove, where the upload was made by a user and readers were made aware of the prohibition.

Austria is therefore the only country in the Alps that generally prohibits cycling in the forest. This is because the Forest Act of 1975 reserves the use of the forest for recreational purposes solely for pedestrians - mountain bikers are exempt, so this has now been confirmed by the Supreme Court. Upmove is an organization that campaigns for the interests of mountain bikers in Austria. According to Upmove, the current legal situation means that around 800,000 mountain bikers in Austria are effectively being relegated to illegality.

For Upmove and the Austrian bike scene, this ruling is a bitter setback - especially as opponents can now point to a ruling by the Supreme Court in local discussions on the subject of mountain biking. "We will have to take to the streets again to make our concerns heard," Upmove told the Standard newspaper in a combative tone.

The Supreme Court based its ruling on the legal basis. Upmove must remove the tour. However, the plaintiffs did not win - because in the age of the internet, the plaintiffs would now also have to take action against platforms such as Strava, Google or Trailforks - where such tours can still be seen. And such a judgment cannot counter the mountain bikers' need for single trails. However, mountain bikers are extremely frustrated. The first sarcastic suggestions are already being made to take the sport to the darknet. There you will find single trails right next to arms dealers, drug dealers and paedophile rings.

Further information:

• The original ruling as PDF: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/
• Report in the Standard: http://derstandard.at/2000068627329/OGH-Urteil-Upmove-muss-sein-Tourenportal-offline-nehmen
• Report on MTB-News: https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/oe-internetplattform-muss-mtb-touren-loeschen.861606/
• Tour on Upmove to the Kasofen: https://www.upmove-mtb.eu/touren/mtb/kasofen/1015a51530i1.html