For more than 20 years, Max Stöckl from Oberndorf near Kitzbühel has been racing down the steepest slopes around the globe. The downhill mountain biker set the world speed record in 2007 with over 210 km/h in the snow of the Chilean Andes. The Tyrolean also holds the record on gravel tracks. At the end of 2016, he accelerated to 167.6 km/h on a production mountain bike in the Atacama Desert. It's not just speed or records that drive the 43-year-old. It has to be a unique challenge and above all: "It has to be really fun!" The Tyrolean has the perfect mountain and the perfect course - by his standards - right on his doorstep: the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel.

First mountain biker on the Streif in winter

Every year in January, the toughest race course in the Alpine Ski World Cup rears its head in the Tyrolean mountains. As soon as the Streif is prepared for one of Austria's sporting highlights, you need crampons to stay on it on foot. Only really good skiers have any chance at all with two boards. Only the best downhill skiers in the world plunge 860 meters into the depths on this 3.3-kilometre-long hell ride. Top speeds of up to 140 km/h are measured at the finish, and the course record has been held by Austrian Fritz Strobl since 1997 with 1:51.58 minutes.

Never before has an athlete conquered the Streif in winter on a mountain bike. Before stars such as Max Franz, Matthias Mayer, Hannes Reichelt, Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal and last year's winner Dominik Paris from South Tyrol go all out on Max Stöckl's local mountain on Saturday, he will be the first person to challenge this unforgiving race course on two wheels.

Three minutes of hellish riding

A few days before the 78th Hahnenkamm race, the man from Kitzbühel throws himself into the saddle from the starting gate of the most prestigious course in the World Cup circuit. Immediately after the start, the steepest section - the infamous Mausefalle - accelerates ski racers to over 110 km/h in no time at all with a gradient of 85 percent. Max Stöckl maneuvers his bike over the icy slope at breakneck speed. After tricky sections with evocative names such as Steilhang, Geschöss, Lärchenschuss or Hausbergkante, the local hero speeds over the finish line with his last ounce of strength and a whopping 103.64 km/h top speed. Although it wasn't enough to break Fritz Strobl's course record, the time of 3:06 minutes amazes even the hardened former World Cup athlete: "After I already have a lot of respect for the Streif on skis, the question of whether I would ever do that on a mountain bike is superfluous!"

Huge feat with a production mountain bike

Overwhelmed by the wild ride on the world's toughest downhill ski run and happy to have mastered this challenge, Max Stöckl grins: "When you're allowed to ride a bike on a slope like this, it's a special honor that I treated with the necessary respect so as not to destroy the work done by the ski club and clear 100 meters of fence. The well-known key sections were also tough for me, where I had to fight hard to catch the gates." As a professional athlete, the Kitzbühel native doesn't venture into world records and hussar rides like the one on the Streif. His main job is running a mountain bike racing team. The Tyrolean remains true to his credo of riding exclusively on production mountain bikes. In addition to 15 millimeter spikes and a carbon mudguard, he uses normal downhill equipment: "The only thing that's different are the screws in the tires and I had a mudguard made. Downhill mountain biking only works for me without special parts. It should remain a bike and not a motorcycle without an engine,", emphasizes the speed expert.