The last afternoon of our stay during the summer vacation of 2008 in the Zillertal is spent climbing the road to Hochfugen. This is also the finish location of the first stage of the Deutschland Tour at the end of August, won by Linus Gerdemann. It is an unknown climb; I could find little to nothing about it on the internet. With an altitude of 1463 meters, the climb is nevertheless classified by the organization as a first-category climb. Starting from about 550 meters means that there are just over 900 meters of elevation gain over 13 kilometers.
The start of the climb is in the town of Fugen, quite early in the Zillertal. How easy could it be; from Fugen to Hochfugen. It’s actually a kind of side valley of the Zillertal. The climb really starts at the bottom of the town and begins steeply with gradients around 10%, while cycling past the shops and the cable car station. It’s a bit humid today, and thunderstorms are expected later in the day. The mountain in front of me obscures my view of the approaching weather, and I hope it will all turn out okay. It’s quite a sweat already at the beginning. Then you leave the town and encounter a few hairpin bends close together. That’s enjoyable climbing, between the trees in the shade from bend to bend. However, the trees soon make way for green alpine meadows where the sun does its best again.
The gradients are quite steep, it’s not going very smoothly so early in the climb. However, my Batavus is doing great again today. It’s my oldest bike, I’ve had it since 2000, and the wheels are still original, but it doesn’t flinch. The sting of this climb is clearly in the beginning, the first roughly 7 kilometers. It alternates between alpine meadows and forest, with occasional sections above 10 percent. After about 8 kilometers, the road flattens out a bit and returns to around 5 percent, which makes the climbing more comfortable. A few kilometers before Hochfugen, you can shift up a gear, and it’s nice racing between beautiful sweeping bends. The road surface here is also excellent, much better than the nearby Zillertaler Hohenstrasse.
It starts to drizzle a bit as I enter Hochfugen. Hochfugen itself is not a sight to see in the summer; it’s a ski resort that looks a bit deserted now. I imagine that in winter it’s packed with people, but that’s not the case now. I park the bike near the bridge to take a photo (evidence), and then it’s time to put on the helmet for the descent. Fortunately, the rain doesn’t really pick up, and now perhaps the most enjoyable part of the journey begins; the descent in the upper kilometers of the climb. It’s not very steep, the bends are numerous, spacious, and clear, it’s delightful to zip downhill. It’s wonderful cycling, and in no time, you’re back in Hochfugen, where it’s necessary to squeeze the brakes for the shopping pedestrians. No, that last afternoon of the vacation was well spent!
