Grieskirchen Radmarathon: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The 3h Radmarathon is the most compact format of the race weekend organized by Radclub Grieskirchen. There is no fixed distance; instead, the winner is whoever completes the most laps of the 21.5 km circuit within three hours. You can ride solo or as a two-person team, with separate classifications for women, men and masters 50+, plus mixed, women's and men's pairs.

The lap itself is rolling terrain with 173 metres of climbing per circuit. The longest rise starts at km 1.3 and runs for about a kilometre and a half at a moderate 3.5 percent. Around km 10 and 11 two short ramps follow, with pitches up to 9 percent, and a final kick waits at km 16.8. It never gets genuinely steep: less than one percent of the course qualifies as steep gradient, while more than a third of each lap rolls gently downhill back towards Grieskirchen.

That profile makes the circuit fast and rhythmical without being flat. The climbs come back every single lap and add up over three hours into an honest race, where a handful of minutes at the end often decides a whole lap in the standings.

Pacing Strategy

Three hours is short enough to ride well above pure endurance pace – aim for an upper sweet-spot to threshold intensity you can hold for the full window without cracking. The lap is balanced, with roughly 31% flat, 32% uphill and 36% downhill; the only longer ramp comes right after the start at kilometre 1.3 (1.5 km at 3.5%), plus two short kickers near kilometres 10 and 11 touching 9%.

Ride these seated and with pressure, but don't attack them every lap – over many laps, repeated surges get expensive. Consistency decides it: the same power lap after lap, sitting in a group where you can, and spinning the descents rather than coasting. The classic mistake is starting too fast – overcook the first hour and you lose more in the third than you ever banked early on.

Training plan for Grieskirchen Radmarathon: 12-week build

The duration of this race is fixed by definition: three hours, ridden noticeably harder than the longer sister events. Anyone racing for lap counts spends long stretches just below threshold, with brief spikes on the lap's ramps.

The character of the effort is brisk and even, punctuated by recurring accents. The climb from km 1.3 can be ridden seated and in rhythm at 3.5 percent, the short ramps around km 10 and 11 bite briefly at up to 9 percent, and after the kick at km 16.8 the course rolls quickly back towards the start. This sequence repeats lap after lap, so a reliable sense of rhythm matters more than any single strong move.

Train the ability to hold power between brisk endurance pace and threshold: blocks of 20 to 60 minutes in that zone, building towards sessions that approach the full race duration. Add intervals of one to three minutes slightly above threshold so the ramps stop leaving residual fatigue, and practise settling straight back into your base pace afterwards. Because this is a bunch race, group training pays off; drafting saves substantial energy on the fast, descending sections that make up over a third of each lap. Rehearse eating and drinking at speed too, since three hours near threshold cannot be finished on empty reserves. With a July race date, it is also worth doing some of your hard sessions in warm conditions.