If someone knows all about bikes, then you certainly won’t come across the bike expert Raimund Stanger, born in Kitzbühel, part of the #LocalHeroes family and he lives and loves cycling like no one else.
From Kitzbühel to Shanghai – in one year by bike
Not only his professional life is all about the bike but also in his private life he loves to ride his road bike, mountain bike or even his e-bike. You could say that he spends most of his free time on the saddle of his bike.
Even as a 6-year-old Raimund was always on the road by bicycle. His father used to be a successful racing cyclist himself and the enthusiasm for bikes has been transferred to Raimund. Now he passes this passion on to his children. It is not unusual to meet the whole family on Sunday during a bike ride on the Hahnenkamm.
Grateful to live here
In one year Raimund cycles between 8,000 and 10,000 km – just to give you an idea, this is roughly the distance from Kitzbühel to Shanghai. An unbelievable achievement! His absolute favourite route with the roadbike, leads to the Kitzbüheler Horn. For him, the 7.1 km to the Alpenhaus have become routine. He knows each of the 30 hairpin bends by heart. The maximum gradient at the final ascent is 22.3%, making the Horn not only the steepest bike mountain in Austria but also a MUST for every racing cyclist.
The Kitzbüheler Horn is THE Streif of the summer
Raimund needs just 34 minutes for the route to the Kitzbüheler Horn – Alpenhaus. Considering that the record for the Alpenhaus was set in 2007 by Austrian cyclist Thomas Rohregger with a time of 28:24 minutes, this is more than impressive!
“Kitzbühel can easily be called a BIKE paradise” Raimund proudly enthuses. He loves the variety of biking opportunities that Kitzbühel offers. No matter if it’s road bike tracks in the valley, mountain bike trails on the mountain or the new trails downhill. Here every cyclist will find the right track. Very important for Raimund is the right food, because a good meal is part of a crisp bike tour for him!
“Cycling is absolutely in the trend, one could see it lately at the sales figures, the demand was extremely large” Raimund is pleased and plans already its next 200 km with the road bike. In winter Raimund prefers ski touring, an ideal balance to the bike as he tells us. His cycling season runs from March/April to November. “When the mountains are still snow-covered in March and it is still possible to cycle in the valley, that is really something special,” Raimund enthuses.
To try out for yourself -> You can find the most popular cycling routes HERE!
#LocalHeroes from Kitzbühel
It is the people who make Kitzbühel and its holiday villages Reith, Aurach and Jochberg so special. These are exactly the personalities we are talking about in our “LocalHeroes” series, in which the true heroes of our region are put in the spotlight. They would probably never call themselves heroes, but they are: Because it is only through their passion for what they do that we can all experience the unique Kitzbühel lifestyle.
