ÖcM Homestories
Our dreamers
Business woman, sports icon, family heroine. 430 participants conquer the Ötztal Cycle Marathon this year. Their everyday lives couldn't be more different. Nevertheless, they all have a common dream: to cross the finish line in Sölden on September 1st. This year, we are creating a very special stage for all these power women and giving them the recognition they deserve for what is probably the toughest marathon in the Alps. To this end, we are allowed to accompany four protagonists on their way to the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon. How are they preparing for the ÖRM 2024? What are their goals, fears and wishes? And how do they juggle job, family, household and training? Here are our dreamers.
Lisa Falkner & Daniela Holzknecht
Proving that anything is possible. Friends Lisa-Maria and Daniela know where they want to go. This is the third time they have trained together for the Ötztal Cycle Marathon. However, their main focus is on the joy of exercise. And the very personal question: “How far can my own body take me?”. These are our two Ötztal power women.
Verena Forcher
The journey is the destination. Or rather, the descent into the finish area. For power woman Verena, the motivation couldn't be greater. This is the fifth time she has taken part in the Ötztal Cycle Marathon and therefore knows all the better what to expect on the challenging route. Her strategy? Pedal for pedal to the top and always think from hairpin bend to hairpin bend. And despite some agony, never lose the joy of movement.
Michaela Thaler
Absurd? Megalomaniac? Not at all. Michaela Thaler is taking on a huge personal challenge. Her sporting past gives the 58-year-old the self-confidence she needs to ride back into Sölden on her own saddle at the end of the day. Her love of endurance sports in the fresh air is infectious and she wants to use it to motivate other women to adopt a healthy lifestyle - young or old, come rain or shine. Let's go Michaela!
#ÖRM Dreamers 2023
One for all, all for one: Together with their racing bike buddy Rene, the two brothers Mattias and Philipp from Carinthia take on the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon mission for the first time. The three cycling musketeers have proclaimed the motto “No one will be left behind”: What was started together, will be finished together! The only point of disagreement is whether the target finish time should be revealed to the public.
The clock jumps to 04:30: While “her boys” are still floating through dreamland, Nicole Schmidt is already on the roll to train for her own dream. This year, the power woman from the Westerwald is taking on the Ötztal Cycle Marathon challenge for the first time. She doesn't know exactly what to expect. Just this much: “It will push me to my limits.” But she doesn't mind, because she is happy to take on the battle with herself!
“It just hurts.” This is how Robert Moser sums up his experience of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon. The head of the neuropathology laboratory in Innsbruck knows what he is talking about, as he has already competed 8 times in Sölden. For his 60th birthday, he set himself the goal of beating his previous best time from 2012 and finishing the “Ötztaler” in less than 09:30 hours. He is aware that this will not necessarily be easier more than 10 years later. And yet: nothing is impossible, as Robert knows!
#ÖRM dreamers 2022
Together with her husband and brother, power woman Kerstin Kampl is living her dream of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon for the 5th time this year. Not only when cycling, but also in everyday family life, Kerstin's main focus is on togetherness and solidarity. “Women are incredibly strong and ready to fight!” This is exactly what she will prove to us again this year at the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon.
The dream of a new best time at the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon is being pursued by our strong-willed lone fighter Marco Petermann. From structured training with professional help from none other than Matthias Notegger, current course record holder, to a strict nutrition plan - Marco leaves nothing to chance. Together with his wife and Marco's newborn daughter, we wish him all the best on the road to his personal dream of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon.
“Every test is a mountain,” says Rupert Schnöll. And the professional firefighter from Salzburg knows what he's talking about. After a kidney transplant in 2016, he thought he would have to bury his dream of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon for good. Thanks to his willpower, hard training and not least the support of his family, he will be at the start of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon this year with 19 of his firefighter comrades.