Never-Bike-Alone MTB-Race - 11. Lauf im CUBE-Cup: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

The circuit sits at the DJK Priegendorf sports ground near Baunach in Upper Franconia and runs on gravel, field and meadow tracks. Every age category rides the same loop in a different length, from 0.6 kilometres for the youngest up to the 4 kilometres used from U17 upwards, which covers U19, elite and masters as well. The main race therefore takes on the longest version of a shared course.

The lap opens with a shallow rise and then drops to its lowest point just before kilometre 1. From there the three climbs follow. The first is the longest at 570 metres and 4.9 percent on average, worth 28 metres of ascent. The second, from kilometre 2.1, is a short 380 metres for 17 metres of gain. The third, from kilometre 2.9, is the steepest at 5.9 percent on average and up to 8.2 percent, and it tops out at the high point of the lap. The final quarter is one long descent back to the start and finish area.

Almost nothing on this lap is flat: only around 14 percent runs without meaningful gradient, everything else goes up or down. As round 11 of the CUBE Cup the race draws a field of series regulars and riders from the surrounding area.

Pacing Strategy

Because the race runs on time, there is no distance to divide up. All you control is the intensity you can hold for 45 to 60 minutes and how even your laps are. It pays to ride the first two laps slightly below what feels possible straight after the start and only then settle into a lap time you can defend. The rhythm is fixed: lowest point just before kilometre 1, then three climbs, then a descent where you can drink.

The race is decided on the third climb from kilometre 2.9. It is the steepest of the lap, it finishes at the high point, and the descent follows immediately, where a gap once opened is hard to close again. Riders who can still accelerate there on every lap move up the results.

The main trap is the first climb. It is the longest, it comes early in the lap, and carrying speed out of the low point makes it far too easy to attack. Twenty-eight metres of ascent cost little time but a lot of substance if you take them deep in the red on every lap. Ride it controlled and save the hard effort for the third climb.

Training plan for Never-Bike-Alone MTB-Race - 11. Lauf im CUBE-Cup: 12-week build

Depending on the category the effort lasts 45 to 60 minutes. That is short enough to be ridden hard throughout, and it is anything but steady: around 44 percent of the lap goes uphill, 33 percent downhill and only about 14 percent is flat. Power keeps jumping between the climbs and the descents, which carry the only recovery on offer.

The three climbs are between 380 and 570 metres long and average 4.6 to 5.9 percent. At race pace that means efforts of roughly one and a half to just under three minutes, three of them per lap, repeated for the whole duration of the race. Repeatability is what decides the result, not a single fastest time up one of them.

In training, short hill intervals mirror that best: sets of six to ten efforts of 90 seconds to three minutes on a climb of about 5 percent, with short recoveries closer to the length of the descent than to full rest. Add blocks of 20 to 30 minutes just below threshold so there is a solid base intensity underneath those spikes.

The second priority is handling on changing surfaces. Gravel, field and meadow tracks ask for different lines and offer different grip than a paved climb, and they ride very differently wet than dry. Do the specific preparation on a short off road circuit and in sets of several consecutive laps, so that line choice and drinking rhythm are automatic before concentration starts to fade.