Radquer Steinmaur: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

Riders start on a long, straight start road that leads directly into the first meadow loop. From there the lap winds in wide arcs and tight switchbacks across the meadows of the Egg, including two longer straights along the forest edge. There is little height difference: each lap adds up to around 35 to 50 metres of climbing, spread over short rises and a few short, steep descents.

In the back half the course dips into the woods twice, and that is where the obstacles are: a double barrier and two single barriers where riders dismount and carry. At the centre of the venue sit a flyover that crosses the course itself and the pit zone, which the lap passes through twice via tight hairpins. The finish lies at the end of the start straight right beside the festival area.

The race has been held more than 60 times, organised by Veloclub Steinmaur. In October it is ridden on natural ground that quickly gets deep in the wet, and the field ranges from hobby riders in the Cross für alle to the international elite; in 2025 the then world number one, Michael Vanthourenhout, won the men's race.

Pacing Strategy

Cyclocross is raced on time, so what counts is not distance but the intensity you can hold for 30 to 60 minutes. The commissaires set the number of laps after the first few; plan on roughly six to nine minutes per lap, depending on category and ground. Within a lap, accelerations out of the turns, short rises and running sections alternate constantly.

The start straight is the most important moment: drop back there and you are stuck in the queue at the first corners. A hard start is necessary, but afterwards settle quickly into a pace you can hold to the end.

The main trap is the barriers in the woods and the pit zone. Clean dismounts and remounts cost less than raw power, and a bike change in the pit pays off on deep ground when the bike clogs with mud. If you still have something left on the last lap, the long finishing straight is where you gain places.

Training plan for Radquer Steinmaur: 12-week build

The races last 30 to 60 minutes and are ridden almost entirely above threshold. The effort is irregular: short, hard accelerations out of corners and on short ramps, running sections with the bike on your shoulder and hardly any time to recover. An aerobic base matters, but the race is decided by the ability to accelerate again and again.

The core is interval work that reproduces this rhythm: 30 to 60 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy, over 10 to 20 minutes. Build in the start situation too: a hard start of 20 to 30 seconds followed by a high, steady pace.

Technique belongs in training just as much: dismounting and remounting at barriers, carrying the bike, tight turns on grass and corners on wet ground. Practise on a patch of meadow near you, ideally with barrier-height obstacles, until it stays fluid when you are exhausted.

In October the ground can be wet and deep. Train on heavy ground too, choose tyres and pressure for the conditions, and plan how you will use the pit zone if a second bike is ready.