White Down Ski & Bike Battle and Speed-Skiing contests on Semmering

For the first time a combined contest of skiing and mountainbiking took place on the Semmering last weekend.Additionally a new speed record of 130 km/h was set in a speed-skiing contest.In the White Down Ski & Bike Battle, 35 teams of one skier or snowboarder and one mountain biker each raced down the flood-lit piste by night trying to score not only the fastest but also the most consistent runs.A team’s consistency indicated good cooperation between the skier and biker and was measured in how large the difference between the laps of two races of the same team was – the less the better.The team „brothers from different mothers” with mountain biker Stefan Voitl and skier Florian Palmsteiner won the speed category before the local team „Auner Downhill Riders” with Patrick Baueregger on skis and Bork Schützenhofer on the bike who came in second.The most consistent team were the „Zau[:ber:]g Riders 3″ with the locals Georg Eder on the bike und Lukas Hofer on skis. The difference between their laps was merely 0.62 seconds.The team „Urban Syndicat” with biker Kevin Zach and skier Teresa Fladischer came in second in the consistency score.Last weekend’s second contest saw a new speed record for the Semmering racing piste. The audience cheered when Austrian world cup national team skier Stephan Schmid reached a stunning 130 km/h.The teams raced down the giant slalom course in best piste conditions and the mood in the audience was cheerful.More at www.zauberberg.at.