Kirschblütenrennen Wels Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The international Kirschblütenrennen in Wels has been held since 1961 and ranks among Austria’s oldest road races; its winners’ list reads like an excerpt from the country’s cycling history. The elite men race 169.6 kilometres as the Austrian championship, starting and finishing at Interspar Wels-Nord with a field of several hundred riders across all categories.

The race runs two circuits through the hill country of Upper Austria: first four big laps of a good 34 kilometres, then two small laps of a good 15. The big lap carries the race’s hardness. Its centrepiece is the Mistelbacherberg at kilometre 19 of every lap: a good 1.5 kilometres at 6.6 percent average with pitches around twelve, roughly 100 metres of gain per crossing. From kilometre 12 a longer wave at around four percent already leads towards it, and even away from these two ascents the lap rarely settles — only a third of the total distance is flat.

The Mistelbacherberg falls at kilometres 19, 53, 88 and 123. Then the race switches to the flat small laps: the final 47 kilometres bring hardly any climbing worth the name, but high speed and a fight for position. In total the profile holds around 2,200 metres of elevation — gathered almost entirely on the first four laps.

Pacing Strategy

This race has two faces, and tactics must know both. On the four big laps the Mistelbacherberg decides: four crossings of 100 metres each with pitches around twelve percent thin the field, and the fourth at kilometre 123 is the selection — lose contact there and you will hardly regain it on the flat closing laps against organised groups.

At the same time: after the last climb, 47 flat kilometres remain. Spend everything on the climb and sit alone in front, and the small laps will bring you back; crest the final crossing in a willing group and you hold the best cards. So keep deliberate reserves on the first three passages — they exist to thin the race, not to win it.

The main trap is the change of rhythm: switching from the climbing cadence of the big laps to the high, even speed of the small laps costs exactly the matches an over-hard start on the climb has burnt. Eat and drink on the calmer sections of the big laps — in the finale no hand is free for it.

12-Week Preparation

For 169.6 kilometres with around 2,200 metres of climbing, expect — depending on field and race dynamics — a good four to five hours. The demand is two-part: four hours of rolling road racing with four hard climbing spikes on the Mistelbacherberg, followed by a flat, fast finale that resembles a criterium.

The race is decided on the fourth crossing of the Mistelbacherberg after a good 120 kilometres. That calls for climbing on pre-fatigued legs: long rides whose closing section contains repeated ascents of three to five minutes at race intensity are the core of the build. The pitches around twelve percent additionally demand muscular endurance — low-cadence efforts belong in the programme.

The second building block is often underrated: sustained speed for the 47 flat closing kilometres. Every climbing block in training should be followed by a longer stretch at high, even speed — in a group or in an aero position — because exactly that switch decides placings in Wels. Bunch craft, positioning and drafting are hard currency on the small laps.

Add fuelling: four to five hours of racing demand planned eating from the first lap, rehearsed on the move during the calmer sections. Think about food only once the small laps begin, and you have thought of it too late.