Wendelsteinrundfahrt: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

From the start in Au near Bad Feilnbach the 50 km loop heads west into rolling farmland rather than towards the mountains. The one substantial climb begins at kilometre ten: four and a half kilometres at four percent average lift you from 550 to 721 metres onto the Irschenberg, the high point of the loop. From there the road rolls on past Loiderding to the Seehamer See, reached at kilometre 28.

The way back is flatter but never flat. At kilometre 37 one more rise of almost three kilometres at a little over three percent stands between you and the run home to Au. Across the whole distance 36 percent of the route is genuinely flat and another 44 percent sits between one and four percent. Ramps of seven percent or more account for just six percent of the course, and all of them are short.

The organising club, Ski-Club Au, calls this the family loop of the event, and it is explicitly open to children. The Wendelsteinrundfahrt is not a race and there is no timing. Riding happens on open roads in normal traffic, which shapes the character of this loop more than any gradient does.

Pacing Strategy

This loop is decided by your ability to hold a pace for two to three hours, not by climbing power. Four fifths of the route sits below four percent, so you spend nearly all of it seated and in rhythm. Ride the first ten flat kilometres deliberately calm rather than letting a fresh group tow you along.

The Irschenberg climb from kilometre ten is the only place where you genuinely gain or lose. Four percent over four and a half kilometres rides well seated: pick an easy gear early and keep your cadence up. Pushing it out of the saddle here gets repaid across the long rolling middle section.

The main trap comes late. After the Seehamer See the route feels easy, but a further rise waits at kilometre 37, and the run back to Au along the Inn valley is often harder work than expected once the wind is against you. Hold something back for it instead of spending the apparently easy second half early.

Training plan for Wendelsteinrundfahrt: 12-week build

Plan on roughly two to two and three quarter hours in the saddle for the 50 kilometres and 625 metres of climbing, depending on your level. The demand is aerobic and even throughout: no climb forces you anaerobic, but genuine recovery is scarce because the road is almost always tilting gently one way or the other.

The section that decides how you finish is between kilometre ten and kilometre 16, meaning the Irschenberg climb and the rolling kilometres straight after it. Ride that at your upper limit and the stretch past the Seehamer See stops flowing.

In training that mostly means volume at endurance intensity. Two to three hour rides at steady effort, ideally over rolling terrain, mirror this loop best. Add longer efforts at lower threshold intensity of 20 to 40 minutes so the one sustained climb does not break your rhythm.

Because the event runs on open roads in normal traffic and this loop is deliberately open to less experienced riders, bike handling belongs in your preparation too: cornering with oncoming traffic, riding in a loose group without bunching up, and calm descending. On this course that matters more than any extra interval session.