MTB cycling: With four exciting and gripping events, the Austrian winter downhill cup LINES SNOW-FRANK has successfully passed its premiere. The last event of the series took place in Semmering last weekend. Vali Höll and Fabio Wibmer can celebrate as the first overall winners of the Austrian Winter Downhill Cup.
One thing above all was offered to the actors and spectators at the races: Endless drifts! More than 80 participants started at the first edition of the LINES SNOW-FRANK Cup, even for the organizer the large number of participants and success came as a bit of a surprise. The organizers left no stone unturned to make the individual events as attractive as possible. For example, the route in Lienz was iced over with 80 cubic meters of water.
The first event as part of the LINES snowmilling cup took place with the "Ride Hard on Snow" in Lienz on January 16th. A week later, the snow downhill in Virgen was already on the agenda. The third race was held on January 29th as an accompanying event "Scott Snow Downhill Dual Race" as part of the White Style Contest in Leogang. The “White Down” event in Semmering marked the end of the cup.
Although trials ace Fabio Wibmer has only one win to his credit, he was able to relegate World Cup rider Markus Pekoll to second place in the overall standings. Third overall was Gabriel Wibmer, Fabio Wibmer's 13-year-old coisin. In the women's category, the 14-year-old Vali Höll won. With three victories, the young woman from Saalbach left a lasting impression. Second place in the women's overall ranking went to downhill state champion Elke Rabeder ahead of Anna Fischbach.
After the successful acid test of the Austrian winter downhill cup LINES SNOWFRAE, the organizers have already given the go-ahead for 2017. In the second year of the event there will be an even more comprehensive racing calendar.