Road bike tour Höttinger Höll

Description

The Höttinger Höll: on the trail of World Champions
 
This was the key passage of the men's elite road race at the Road World Championships and the steepest section of all the World Championships courses – the Höttinger Höll with a maximum incline of 28%.
 
However, the tour starts comfortably in the heart of the city at the Tyrolean State Theatre and leads past the Imperial Palace and Burggraben road. The route gives a view of Maria Theresien Street on the left and the famous Golden Roof on the right before crossing the Inn Bridge to the other side of the River Inn.
 
The first climb leads up the narrow Höttinger Gasse road to Höttinger Kirchplatz square before turning left onto Schneeburggasse road. After just under 200 metres, the route starts the climb up Dorfgasse road and continues along the steep Gramartstraße road until it reaches the short but "devilishly" strenuous maximum incline of 28%. Pulses race and calves burn but the goal of conquering the extremely steep passage without getting off is within reach. You did it!
 
The route then continues more leisurely uphill, passing Gramartboden and continuing on to Hungerburg, before athletes start the fast and technically demanding descent down Höhenstraße road towards Innsbruck. A sharp left turn at Höttinger Kirchplatz square leads onto Riedgasse road. The route then continues along Innstraße road, over the Mühlauer Brücke bridge and along Rennweg road to the starting point in front of the Imperial Palace.

By the way: this steep passage has nothing to do with the term "Hölle", which means "hell" – the word comes from the Tyrolean "Hehl", which means a sunken path or road through a ravine. And this perfectly describes the Höttinger Höll: an extremely steep sunken road up to Gramartboden in the north of Innsbruck.