The ASVÖ King of the Lake once again proved its status as the most important time trial in Europe on 20 September 2025. In summery temperatures and bright sunshine, the lakeside road around the Lake Attersee into a perfect time trial arena for almost 1,400 athletes from 22 nations. Four course records were set on the completely closed 47.2 kilometre course. Daniel Hochstraßer from the organising cycling club Atterbiker defended his title as King of the Lake powered by Specialized with a new best time of 0:57:39.53 hours. In the women's category, Astrid Lamprecht from Carinthia secured the crown of Queen of the Lake powered by Lenzing AG for the first time with a time of 1:07:42.22 hours. In the elite category, Dutch professional Brian Megens triumphed in 0:55:58.81 hours, while Lydia Ventker from Germany won the women's category with a time of 1:03:22.80 hours. The high-calibre starting field included time trial specialists as well as celebrities such as Olympic luge champion Felix HoleOlympic snowboarding champion Benjamin Karl and RAAM legend Christoph Strasser.
King of the Lake records team time trial
The race programme kicked off with the 10-man team time trial powered by Upper Austria. Here, the RH77 Factory Racing team of René Haselbacher, Reto Hollenstein, Matthias Krizek, Felix Ritzinger, Stefan Rabitsch and professional snowboarder Benjamin Karl set a new course record with a time of 0:57:52.61 hours. They relegated last year's winners from Cycling Team Schwingshandl (0:58:00.10 hours) and Team dranbleibER (0:59:19.81 hours) to second and third place. In total, three teams broke the "sound barrier" of one hour. In the 4-man team time trial powered by Autohaus Eder and Volkswagen, Radsport Team Gaimersheim celebrated its fourth victory in a row with a time of 0:58:31.53 hours. They were followed by the next125 Hackl-Lebensräume team (0:59:23.33 hours) and the quartet from the Plasmatreat - RTS Electronic 1 team (1:00:08.91 hours).
King of the Lake amateur classes
In the men's amateur class, local hero Daniel Hochstraßer delivered an impressive performance. The 33-year-old from Steyr not only defended his title as King of the Lake powered by Specialized, but also set a new course record of 0:57:39.53 hours. "It was a brutally tough race right from the start, I started a bit too fast but then managed to find my way into the race. When I crossed the finish line, I still thought I was behind. But when my wife told me that I had set a new course record and won, it was a huge load off my mind, because the race and the victory here mean an incredible amount to me," said a delighted Hochstraßer about his home victory. Second place went to Daniel Szalay, the Hungarian defending champion from 2023, with a time of 0:58:03.39 hours. Dominik Tantscher completed the podium, just 23 seconds behind Szalay.
In the women's race, Astrid Lamprecht from Völkermarkt secured the title of Queen of the Lake powered by Lenzing AG for the first time with a time of 1:07:42.22 hours. The Carinthian, who had already competed as a professional at Lake Attersee in 2016, was delighted after her comeback: "I'm delighted that I was able to win here. I took part here for the first time in 2016, back then as a professional. Then I had children and now I wanted to give it another go in the amateur class. And I even improved my time. The race is simply unique, the closed course, the landscape, the length of the race, it's just great here." The Dutchwoman Larissa Drysdale (1:09:34.80 hours) followed well behind in second place and the Viennese Victoria Achtig (1:10:41.46 hours) in third place.
Young talents set standards
Elisa Winter once again dominated the U23 category powered by Raiffeisen Upper Austria. The 21-year-old Styrian secured the title of U23 Queen of the Lake for the third time in a row with a time of 1:05:25.02 hours, equalling her own course record from the previous year. "I'm delighted to have won the title for the third time. It was a tough race today, you have to really push yourself here, especially in the second half of the race when it gets hillier. But in the end it was all worth it," explained Winter after her success. Second and third place went to the two Germans Anne Schmidhuber (1:07:28.41 hours) and Clara Sophie Nitschmann (1:10:04.38 hours).
Matthew Dodd from Great Britain caused a furore in the U23 men's race. With a time of 0:56:16.79 hours, he set a new course record in this category and was crowned U23 King of the Lake powered by Raiffeisen Oberösterreich. "This is such a great race, simply a wonderful setting and an unrivalled course. It was a tough race, but I knew from my first attempt two years ago how I had to organise it," said the 22-year-old, delighted with his triumph. Last year's winner Adrian Stieger (0:57:06.00 hours) had to settle for second place, while Tyrolean Benjamin Eckerstorfer (0:57:17.78 hours) finished third.
Professionals at the King of the Lake
In the elite category powered by Garmin, Dutch cycling pro Brian Megens came out on top. With an impressive time of 0:55:58.81 hours, he relegated the strong U23 winner Matthew Dodd to second place. "It was a great race. I was a bit worried about the heat at the start, but I was able to organise it very well. The race is really well organised, all the participants were so respectful and nice to each other and the atmosphere is great," said the 35-year-old Dutchman, delighted with his success. Adrian Stieger took third place in the professional category.
In the elite women's race powered by Lenzing AG, victory went to Lydia Ventker from Germany. After finishing second last year, she now secured the title with a time of 1:03:22.80 hours. "Riding full throttle for an hour is always tough, but it is for everyone. This is the third time I've raced here and even when I raced for the first time, I was determined to win here. All good things come in threes," said the newly crowned elite queen, delighted with her first victory on Lake Attersee. The U23 winner Elisa Winter and last year's winner Anna Kofler (1:05:27.10 hours) followed in second and third place.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
