Add to travel guide Innsbruck has hosted the Olympic Games not once but twice, so it is little wonder that "Olympia" can be found almost everywhere in the regional capital of Tirol. This circular ride around Innsbruck nicknamed "Olympia Express" is long, challenging and full of climbing. It takes riders through all the locations which hosted Olympic disciplines in 1976. However, it has also been designed in such a way that riders can shorten the ride and head straight back to Innsbruck at several points along the route. Most of the roads are quiet and offer a fantastic riding experience with great views.

Statistics

1

day +

3,194

m

3,194

m

6

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

The ride starts in Innsbruck and leads along the foot of the Nordkette mountains to Thaur, where riders turn left into the village and past the Absamer Kaserne barracks to the village of Gnadenwald.

After passing the Michaelerhof guesthouse, take a right to Fritzens and then continue down to Wattens.

There, follow the main road (Bundesstraße) right to Volders and turn left in the village towards Volderberg. After passing the Schloss Friedberg castle, the steep climb to Tulfes begins.

After several kilometres of uphill riders reach the village of Tulfes on a plateau in the Mittelgebirge mountains.

Continue west through the villages of Rinn and Sistrans as far as Lans. In Lans, take a sharp left at the Gasthof Zum Wilden Mann and ride past the Olympic bobsleigh and skeleton run.

Keep riding until you reach the village of Patsch.

Here, turn left onto the "Römerstraße" road, which has very little traffic and offers some beautiful views of the mountains as it rolls up and down as far as Matrei am Brenner.

In Matrei am Brenner, turn onto the main road (Brenner-Bundesstraße) and ride back towards Innsbruck. Continue on this relatively busy road past Schönberg and as far as the large roundabout to the south of Innsbruck ("Innsbruck Süd).

Take the exit marked "Mutters - Götzens".

Here follows a short but steep climb to Mutters. From Mutters the ride continues along the rolling road leading through the villages of Götzens, Axams, Grinzens and Tanneben, before plunging down into the Sellraintal Valley.

Cross the bridge in Sellrain and take the steep road up to St.

Quirin. Ride on through Oberperfuss, Unterperfuss, Inzing and Hatting, where you cross the valley and continue in a westerly direction as far as the first roundabout near Telfs. This is where the final section starts.

From Telfs, take the road (Büchner Landstraße) via Buchen and Leutasch to Seefeld.

The descent then takes riders via Mösern to Telfs.

All that now remains is the flat ride back north of the Inn via Zirl and Kranebitten to Innsbruck. Source: https://www.tyrol.com/things-to-do/sports/cycling/biketours/a-olympia-express-innsbrucker-doerferrunde