Information

New: start, finish, medal plaza, timetable

Registration for the MTB Marathon will open after final clarification of whether the route is passable in 2023 (Storm damage)!

Right in the middle

We have revised the organisation of the mountain bike marathon and integrated this discipline even better into the processes and atmosphere of Rad am Ring.

Start

The start will take place in connection with the Grand Depart on Saturday from 12:05 pm. The three MTB blocks are the first disciplines under the starting arch. The first start is the 75 km MTB race, followed by 50 km and 25 km at three-minute intervals. Licensed and hobby riders will start in the same block. Access to the blocks is via the checkpoint at the end of the pit lane at pit 33 against the direction of travel. Entry is only possible from 11:45 to 11:55. At 12:30 pm, the start of the 150 km Everyman Race will follow.

Course

The course for the first lap (the only one for 25 km) will not change compared to 2019. Laps 2 and 3, however, do not branch off in front of the GP Arena, but lead across the GP track and paddock along the route of the 24h MTB race. This increases the distance per lap by about 3.5 km. This means that at 50 km, we will then drive a total of about 53.5 km and at 75 about 82 km. However, the designations (25,50,75) will remain the same.

Finish

The finish line is crossed without a special entry channel via the start & finish line as in all other races.

Medals plaza at Bit

After crossing the finish line the participants (here also own initiative is required!) will be diverted from the GP track at position 1 – see map. The way to the Bitburger-Bier area leads along grandstand 4 to Stefan-Bellof-Straße and from there through the tunnel back to the paddock, where the Bitburger area is located directly on the right hand side. Our team will then hand over the medals while enjoying a cool Bit alcohol-free drink.

Change of distance

A change of distance during the current competition is not possible. Each driver will be scored in the registered distance. Rebooking before the start is possible.

Finishing/last lap

The individual last lap (75 km the third; 50 km the second) must be tackled at the latest at about 15:15. We will close the access to the ramp (about 3 km after start&finish) at 15:30. In principle, the black and white chequered flag will be waved at the start and finish in accordance with race track tradition. However, we ask for your understanding that in the “running operation” with all RaR disciplines a MTB marathoner might be missed by the flag wavers.

Description

With its three course options of 25, 50 or 75 km Rad am Ring’s MTB-Marathon through Grüne Hölle (Green Hell) will offer the perfect playground to off-road fans of different fitness- and skill levels. Be prepared for a cross-country adventure on a varied course that leaves nothing to wish for cross-country-wise.

Only a few meters away from the legendary race circuit of Nürburgring a cross-country course can be found that mountain bike pro Karl Platt once enthused about in BIKE magazine: “There is no other trail that provides the same sensation as the one at Nürburgring.” This very special cross-country experience – off tarmac roads, but nevertheless in the middle of a unique mixture of motor sport and mountain biking – Rad am Ring’s MTB-Marathon poses a three-fold challenge to well-trained amateur bikers as well as to ambitious pro riders, as they can choose from courses covering 25, 50 or 75 km (one to three laps).

Marathon riders will soak up some formula 1 atmosphere at start and finish line on the Grand Prix circuit, in between an exciting mixture of trails and gravel await Green Hell’s conquerors on studded tires. By the way: Grüne Hölle, a respectful nickname of Nürburgring, actually is even more applicable to the forested surroundings of the race circuit than to the race track itself, as the natural course with its approx. 610 vertical meters issues a special appeal when it comes to riding skills.

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Track

Nürburgring: legendary Nordschleife and modern Formula One arena

The Nürburgring, since 1927 this has been the legendary Nordschleife, often also called the “Green Hell”. And the Grand Prix circuit, built in 1984 and expanded by the Mercedes-Arena in 2002. It can be driven and ridden on in two sections (sprint track and Müllenbachschleife) and it can additionally be connected to the Nordschleife.

At “Rad am Ring” we combine the existing routeings for the single disciplines in different ways and with the “24h-Rennen” we additionally lead the participants through the Grand Prix paddock.

Thus, the different track lenghts, elevation profiles and turn variations are created.

Who wants to pass the “Green Hell” will have a unique experience!

Regardless of the athletic level on which one will tackle the Nürburgringʼs legendary Nordschleife, the old track in the Eifel will demand a lot and give everything. It is the most beautiful stretch of tarmac between the North and South Pole, alluring with scenic charm and challenging with is 500 meters of difference in altitude and some 73 turn passages on 20,8 kilometers of length (These are the pure Nordscheife data. Exact data of your discipline see “information”) . Who wants to pass the “Green Hell” will have a unique experience!

At the Nürburgring cycling world champions have been crowned, individual riders have tested their personal limits for 24 hours, and amateur athletes have returned from the “Green Hell” exhausted but happy. The fascination that this unique track holds for both car drivers and motorbike riders is seamlessly transferred to the cyclists.

During countless hours the possible reason for this fascination has been philosophised upon at regulars’ tables and many reasons have been found. Itʼs quite possible, however, that each and every person had his or her very individual experience, thus resulting in a very individual love for the “Grande Dame” of race tracks. But regardless of the “why”: Who is once infected with the Nürburgring virus canʼt get rid of it that easily anymore. This also and very specifically applies to the participants of the 24-hour race.
It all starts in a harmless and at the same time impressive manner. After all, the start on a Formula One circuit is something that you donʼt experience every day. The track is 18 meters wide, there will be no huge crush, no ascent. The right turn into the Mercedes-Arena will not be a challenge yet either. The starting lap on the short configuration will challenge the participants a little bit when ascending to the “NGK Schikane”. After transitioning to the Nordschleife it will be downhill until reaching “Breidscheid”, except for a few interruptions. Those really avid cyclists will reach speeds of up to nearly 100 km/h in the section “Fuchsröhre”; wonderful outlooks onto the Eifel landscape will add alternative charms.

Starting in “Breidscheid”, it will get serious for some four kilometers. Via “Ex-Mühle” and “Bergwerk” the track section “Klostertal” will be entered– and this one is not to be underrated. The tarmac will rise very slowly, suggesting an easy job. But the ascent will grow bigger with every meter. Between the legendary “Karussell” and “Hohe Acht” the peak of nearly 17 % gradient will be hit. Here at the very latest it will dawn on everybody that the Nordschleife is also respectfully called “Green Hell” by cyclists, and rightly so.
“Wippermann”, “Eschbach”, “Brünnchen”, “Pflanzgarten”, all of these will be rather harmless again, despite the turning ups and downs. Then, passing “Schwalbenschwanz” and “Galgenkopf”, the track will lead towards the long straight called “Döttinger Höhe”. At its end, only the chicane “Hohenrain” will separate the cyclists from the start-finish straight of the Grand Prix circuit. Grandstands and pit complex will rise out of the ground. More than 5000 participants will have set up camp along the track, some of them luxuriously, thus creating a unique atmosphere. And behind all this the door of the “Green Hell” will open up for another lap.