Vier Hübel Tour 2013

Evaluation

The race as a whole:		The catering:
The fitness level:		The technical level:

Report

In 2013 I made my debut in the "Vier Hübel Tour" (Four Hill Tour) in Oberwiesenthal, Germany.
According to the organizers the Vier Hübel Tour is not a race but a tour, even though everyone receives a certificate with ones personal time afterwards. But maybe the fact that it is not a race is the explanation for the friendly and relaxed atmosphere?!
There are only 600 places available which I hope also will be the case in the future as this, in my opinion, prevents bad karma on the trails.

My goal was to fulfill the app. 90km and 2300m elevation in less than 5 hours. Something that I thought would be possible due to the relatively easy course. Something that I later found out was wrong...

The start is on the market place in Oberwiesenthal where many spectators had gathered to see the 600 participants (the event was sold out). The weather was fine. Sunny but even a bit cold but absolutely nothing to complain about.
We left the city with high speed and headed for the first climb to the Bärenstein which we reached after 15km. After a quick descent we continued with high speed but there was also room for a chat with the other participants. Extremely positive experience! I never talked to that many people during a bike event. One of the participants reminded me to take it easy as the worst was yet to come...he was right as I found out later.

After app. 25km we reached the second climb to the Pöhlberg which took my breath for the next 5km. Another quick descent (71,6km/h max speed) and further on we went. My legs felt strong, my average speed was high and so was my mood. The next climb was the Scheibenberg which we quickly left behind again. Everything was fine...and than after 55km we reached the climb to the Oberbecken which is the fourth and second last climb (in reality the Four Hill Tour has 5 hills). The grade of elevation reached 13% and my legs started to cramp. If that wasn`t enough the weather changed and it began to rain and became even colder. Luckily the friendly people at the depot handed some warm oatmeal and friendly words over. Thanks for that!

We had to descent all the way down to 560m above sea level before the final climb to the Fichtelberg (with 1,214m the highest mountain in the state of Saxony). 650m elevation at the very end. Ouch! Until here my average speed was quite ok but on the last 18km I lost a lot of time.
When I reached the finish in pouring rain, fog and temperaturs just above zero degrees I was completely exhausted but also proud that I made it and it was totally ok that it took 5:28h instead of less than 5 hours which I had aimed for.

If you want to try the Vier Hübel Tour I can only recommend you to do so. But also to take it easy in the beginning and save some energy for the final climb. Don`t get tricked by the relatively easy course, it is still a challenge!

The Vier Hübel Tour is a really nice event with amazing helpers at the depots that still smiled at me when approached them after 5 hours. Many participants told me that they participate year after year. I can understand that.

If the course had more single trails I would give the event 5 stars. For my taste it has a bit too many sections on asphalt and gravel roads but that is a questions of personal taste.

Pictures