Albstadt Bike Marathon Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The marathon distance of the Albstadt Bike Marathon, held for the 30th time in 2026, sends the field on an 82-kilometre loop with around 2,200 metres of climbing through the hills above Albstadt, starting and finishing in town. Unlike alpine marathons, the climbing is not concentrated in a few long passes but spread across eight classified ascents and countless smaller rollers in between; a good third of the elevation gain hides outside the counted climbs in the constant up and down.

The day opens at kilometre 5 with the longest climb of the route, 1.8 kilometres at close to eight percent with ramps up to 19 percent. Shorter stabs follow at kilometres 20, 27 and 47 before the finale serves the hardest examinations: a climb at kilometre 52 spiking to almost 29 percent, and at kilometre 62 the steepest sustained pitch of the loop, twelve percent average over 1.3 kilometres. There is more climbing at kilometres 69 and 72 before the course rolls back into Albstadt. Four feed stations, among them at the Ruchtal ski lift and in Burgfelden, break up the lap. The organiser confidently calls this one of the most beautiful bike races anywhere; the profile calls it something else above all: relentless, unrhythmic and honest.

Pacing Strategy

On this marathon loop the decider is not one long mountain but the sum of many short, steep climbs - and when they land. The hardest come late: the twelve-percent ramp at kilometre 62 (153 vertical metres) and the climb at kilometre 73. That is exactly why you must save matches in the first half, even though a 140-metre climb already tempts you at kilometre 5. With about ten percent steep up and steep down, the course is technical; clean line choice and letting the bike run on the descents save more energy than any power management.

The main trap is racing the early ramps and having nothing left for the decisive section after kilometre 60. Ride the first two thirds controlled, eat early and regularly, and keep your hard accelerations for the steep ramps of the closing loop.

12-Week Preparation

Budget four to six and a half hours as an age-group rider for the 82 kilometres and roughly 2,200 metres of climbing. The demands differ fundamentally from a road granfondo with long passes: short, often very steep climbs of three to ten minutes alternate with fast descents and rolling connectors. The result is a stochastic load pattern with frequent excursions above threshold; the ramps with 20 to 29 percent maximum gradient are squarely anaerobic efforts.

The second half decides the race. The steepest climbs of the loop arrive at kilometres 52 and 62, with well over 1,000 metres of climbing already in the legs. Riders who spread their matches evenly across all eight ascents pass plenty of people here who followed the early pace.

Train repeated climbing efforts specifically: interval sets of six to ten times three to five minutes uphill above threshold, with short descending recoveries, replicate the course's rhythm far better than long steady climbing blocks. Add low-cadence strength-endurance work for the pitches beyond 15 percent, where staying seated and keeping traction on loose ground matter as much as power. Long off-road rides of three to five hours with a deliberately hard final third build the specific fatigue resistance the back-loaded profile demands. And since about a third of the distance points downhill, practise mountain-bike descending technique on tired arms and legs; on this loop there is a lot of free time to be found going down.