Rad Race One Twenty: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

After a neutralised roll-out the clock starts at kilometre 0, and the first quarter is a warm-up via Immenstadt towards Oberstaufen, flat to rolling and without a ramp worth the name. From kilometre 40 it gets serious: a first climb of about three and a half kilometres leads over into Hittisau in the Bregenzerwald, followed by the Sausteigpass, around 240 metres of climbing in just under four kilometres with pitches beyond eleven percent. The first feed station sits at the top.

The centrepiece is the Riedbergpass from around kilometre 75: a little over seven kilometres at close to 8 percent, individual ramps around 13 percent and almost 570 metres of height in one go. The organiser places two time limits there, at the foot and at the summit, and scores the team mountain classification on exactly this climb. The second feed station waits at the top.

The race is not over after that. Between kilometres 98 and 112 two more ramps of just over two kilometres bring sections above twelve percent, and the finish comes at the end of a short, steep kicker. It is all road racing through two pre-Alpine regions with genuine alpine descents, which is why the organiser insists on well-serviced brakes; road and gravel bikes are allowed, time-trial bikes are not. With around 2,700 riders at the last edition it is a cycling festival with a race at its core rather than a pure licensed event.

Pacing Strategy

The team time hangs on the third rider, so the weakest of the first three sets the pace. The flat first 40 kilometres are there for sitting in, saving energy and keeping the group together, not for gaining places; the Saturday time trial has already decided the start blocks.

The Riedbergpass decides the race. After about 75 kilometres and two solid climbs it meets tired legs, and seven kilometres at close to 8 percent can only be ridden evenly, just under threshold. A team that splits here loses more at the top than a strong rider on the front can ever win back. For teams further back in the field, the time limits at the foot and the summit are the real opponent, and they mean the climb must not start too late or too slowly.

The classic trap is the Sausteigpass. It comes right after the flat opening, feels easy on fresh legs and tempts you to ride it above threshold. The bill arrives on the Riedberg and on the two late ramps beyond kilometre 98, which hurt far more on an empty tank than their length suggests.

Training plan for Rad Race One Twenty: 12-week build

A mid-field team should plan for five to six and a half hours of riding, fast teams considerably less. The effort is aerobic and long at its core, broken up by climbs that each last ten to forty minutes and are ridden around threshold, plus the surges of riding in a bunch on the flat opening.

The key ability is riding a long climb at a steady level after four hours in the saddle. Long rides with the climbing loaded into the second half reproduce that better than intervals on fresh legs: plan sessions where the hardest climb only arrives after three hours, and ride it for 20 to 30 minutes evenly, just under threshold.

Because the clock stops with the third rider, riding together belongs in the plan: holding the weakest rider's pace on climbs, riding a clean paceline on the flat and keeping turns short. If you start as a solo rider, train your own pacing without the team discipline instead.

The alpine descents demand bike handling and confidence in brakes and tyres, wet tarmac included. Practise long descents with hairpins in a group, and work out how you eat and drink at the feed stations on the way to the Riedberg, because there are only a few quiet kilometres between the climbs to do it.