VICC Club Championships 2026

Oct 12

3 min read

Race day in Simonsfeld

On Saturday 10 October 2026 at 11:00, the second VICCRD Club Championships got under way in Simonsfeld, Lower Austria. The course took us three times around a hilly loop, roughly 53 km in total with a little over 500 m of climbing.

The weather didn't make things easy. It was around 12 degrees at the start with a strong and steady wind from the south west, and during the first lap a rain shower passed over the stretch between Lachsfeld and Bruderndorf.

Everyone set off together, but there were really two races in one. Alongside the overall championship, our VICCRD group, the Mere Mortals, raced for their own titles. Each race had its own podiums, split into women and men.

The race for the overall title

Lap 1: an early attack and a slippery Lachsfeld

The first lap started gently out of Simonsfeld on the climb towards Naglern, but it didn't stay gentle for long. Philip Sanjath launched the first attack and kept the pressure on all the way up to Lachsfeld.

Then the rain had its say. On the wet road through the right and left bends in Lachsfeld, Daniel Kratz went down. Luckily he was unhurt and his bike came through without damage, so he could carry on. The crash did end his hopes of going with the attack, though, and held up a few riders behind him.

By the end of the lap the break had taken shape. Philip Sanjath, Roman Nagiller, Marc Balzuweit, Roman Parzer and Michael Kröll started lap two together.

Laps 2 and 3: down to two

The front group kept the speed high and dropped Michael Kröll during the second lap. On the final lap things got properly fierce. Repeated attacks from Sanjath and Nagiller first cost Roman Parzer his place, and later Marc Balzuweit had to let them go as well.

So it came down to two riders on the finishing straight. In a thrilling sprint Roman Nagiller took the win and the title, denying last year's champion Philip Sanjath a second club championship.

Overall women and the Mere Mortals

In the women's race, Julia Almeder and Marlene Kirchner were already out in front after the first lap. Neither of them gave an inch over the next two laps and the battle went right down to the line, where Julia Almeder won the sprint. That gave her a double, as she took both the overall and the Mere Mortals women's titles.

In the Mere Mortals men's race, Andreas Fida-Taumer led after lap one and nobody saw him again. He held on all the way to the finish and took a well earned win in the Mere Mortals men's category.

Cake, drinks and a special thank you

Once everyone was back, the whole group came together to celebrate the winners of the 2nd VICCRD Club Championships. There was a drink, plenty of sweet treats from the bakery and a lot of reliving the race, from the crash in Lachsfeld to that final sprint.

A big thank you goes to Hold My Bike for the generous prizes for the overall men's and women's winners. The HMB CUSTOM Bike Wall Mounts, with the VICCRD logo cut into the metal, will find a special place on the walls of our two champions. There they will proudly hold their bikes and remind them of a great win and an even greater group of people they rode with.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who raced, helped and cheered. See you next year!