Ötztal Cycle Marathon: Headwinds for organisers following an Instagram post

​As is well known, polarising and emotional topics work particularly well on social media. A post by the Ötztal Cycle Marathon on the subject of mobile phone use stirred up a great deal of emotion. “We are very disappointed: despite our clear appeal in the run-up to the event, the request to refrain from using mobile phones whilst cycling was ignored by a great many participants. We subsequently received a great deal of feedback on this – and quite rightly so! Thank goodness everything went well this year. Nevertheless, we are seeing more and more participants holding their mobile phones whilst riding, taking selfies or filming. This behaviour endangers not only their own safety, but also that of everyone else on the route,” the post states. As the mobile phone ban was disregarded, the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon is set to take a tougher line next year: “Anyone holding a mobile phone whilst cycling must expect to be disqualified. This also applies if the breach is only identified retrospectively through published posts, live-stream recordings, our event photos or the participant’s own video.”

Headwinds for the appeal

Almost all users on Instagram welcomed the ban on mobile phones – though there was some opposition. The main criticism was that, through its invitation policy, the Ötztal Cycle Marathon promotes the influencers who film the event. “Perhaps don’t invite so many ‘content creators’ and then encourage them to post content about it…”, read one comment, which received 250 likes. Another comment struck a similar note: “I also think it’s a problem of your own making. There have never been as many influencers and cycling content creators as there were this year. In the days that followed, the feed was flooded with photos and videos… some of which you reposted. Please adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards all of them.” The following post also criticised this: “You’re promoting all these ‘cycling influencers’ and ‘road cycling girls’, and then you complain when they do what they always do?” Some participants were even able to describe specific incidents: “When I took part in the Ötztaler last year, the podcast host @marcoxbrugger nearly knocked me over because he was holding his mobile. Nothing happened and, as I said, it was all good – we even had a nice chat afterwards whilst riding. However, that’s obviously not setting a good example.”

In light of the many critical comments, the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon felt compelled to clarify that, whilst influencers are invited, the mobile phone ban also applies to them: “The mobile phone ban applies to all participants on the route – regardless of whether they are professional content creators or not. All participants are asked to use a permanently mounted action camera instead of a mobile phone.”

Safety at the Ötztal Cycle Marathon

The organiser’s aim is to improve safety at the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon. This was also expressly welcomed and supported by users. “Thank you all – I stuck to the rules strictly and was very disappointed that some fellow influencers didn’t consider it necessary,” commented one influencer. In response to several enquiries, the organisers confirmed that the ban only applies whilst cycling. “If you stay safely at the side of the road and do not endanger anyone (neither yourself nor other participants), it is of course fine.” Filming and photography are still permitted, particularly at the refreshment stations. The Ötztaler Cycle Marathon also highlighted the permitted and safe options: fixed cameras, e.g. mounted on the handlebars, are allowed. One user had filmed the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon using Oakley glasses. Whilst this is permitted by the organisers, it is likely to be highly problematic from a data protection perspective.