Roadbike Ride
Kühtai Rodeo

The ride begins at the roundabout in Kematen, on the western edge of the village, between the police station and the M-Preis supermarket. The route leads out of the village in a southerly direction following the L13 road along the banks of the rushing Melach river to the village of Sellrain. The gradient remains relatively easy during this first section as riders make their way through through two 300-metre-long tunnels open on one side.

After 6.6 kilometres riders reach the village of Sellrain. The narrow valley opens up a little here and offers some fine views. Still following the Melach river, the road heads further into the valley and soon reaches Gries im Sellrain (1,187m). Many cars turn off left towards the village of Praxmar, so from here on there is less traffic than on the first section. However, this point also coincides with the steepest part of the first climb: a long straight ramp with pitches of up to 16%.

Shortly after passing Peida (1,492m) there is a little downhill respite where riders lose around 50 of their hard-earned vertical metres before climbing once again to St. Sigmund im Sellrain (1,516m), where the next steep ramp awaits. Riders gain elevation quickly as they pass a S-shaped corner and reach Haggen (1,646m), the last village before Kühtai.

On the way to the Zirmbachalm (1,783m) riders pass a beautiful area of open alpine terrain with fabulous views. However, we recommend you resist the temptation to take break here. After all, there's still plenty of riding to be done! The final section up to Kühtai passes through two avalanche protection tunnels open on one side (250 metres and 350 metres long respectively) before the road flattens out and enters Kühtai. The sign announcing the start of the village also indicates the highest point of the ride: 2,017 metres above sea level.

Now it's time for a fast descent down to Ochsengraben. As they enter the village, riders turn off right and must overcome a short climb to the Haiminger Sattele (1,690m) before winding their way down via many corners all the way to Haiming. The turnaround point is the roundabout next to the railway station. Riders then head back up the way they came to, completing around 1,000 vertical metres of elevation gain to Ochsengarten and then continuing all the way back up to Kühtai.

Once they have reached Kühtai, riders must turn around once again and head back down to Ochsengarten. Instead of turning off as they did before, they should head straight through the village, past the ski resort and all the way down to Oetz. The roundabout next to the supermarket once again marks the turnround point.

All that now remains is the third and final climb of the day. The route leads along the Stuibenbach river through thick forests and up via several switchback corners. The road is steep in places, but riders are rewarded with magnificent views. Make sure you save some energy for this final ascent, which has pitches of up to 16%.

After 1,200 vertical metres of steep climbing riders will once again find themselves up in Kühtai. Having successfully completed one of the toughest climbs in Tirol from three different sides of the mountain, they can proudly call themselves a Kühtai Cowboy or Kühtai Cowgirl. All that now remains is to complete the descent back down to the starting point in Kematen.

Tip! The sections through the tunnels are more relaxing and enjoyable if you have front and rear lights on your bike.