Nice: The month of May starts with a public holiday (Labour Day), which fortunately falls on a Friday this year. Please note: If you want to head south, for example towards Lake Garda to the Bike Festival, you should be aware of the bottleneck on the Reschen Pass route:
Closed pass roads
Full closure of the B180 until 8 May 2026: Parallel to the work on the Kanzelgalerie, the Reschenstraße will be closed to all traffic several times a day from 13 April to 8 May due to urgently needed rock clearance work. The exact closure times: Monday to Friday from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 1.30 pm to 6 pm. Alternative routes will be signposted via Switzerland and two lanes will also ensure smoother traffic at the Brenner construction site during these times.
The most important MTB dates in May
1 - 3 May: UCI Race of South Korea, South Korea (XCO/DHI)
The World Cup season starts for the first time in Mona YongPyong, PyeongChang in South Korea. The first Asian venue in 25 years. Very few fans will fly there, but they will certainly follow the whole thing on screen. Where and how the World Cup will be broadcast after the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet been decided. The following channels have been mentioned so far: YouTube, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series website and the TNT Sports, GCN+, Eurosport and Discovery+ platforms, depending on the race and location.
1st May: Season opening of the MTB Zone Bikepark Petzen
Known for its 11-kilometre flow trail, Diddie Schneider's Carinthian park has also been offering EWS trails for some time now. The park was open for a few days in April, but the official opening of the season is scheduled for 1 May (depending on snow conditions). Info: mtbzone-bikepark.com
2 May: Riva Bike Marathon
The Bike Festival in Riva del Garda (1-4 May) has been THE event to open the season for over 30 years. This is where the entire bike community meets to test the latest bikes, ride the first alpine trails and, of course, take part in the first big marathon of the season: the race has always been regarded as the first fitness check. Info: bikefestivalriva.com
8 May: The Leogang, Brandnertal and Lienz bike parks open
Info: bikepark.saalfelden-leogang.com, bikepark-brandnertal.at, osttirol.com (Lienz)
9 May: The Semmering and Feuerkogel bike parks open
Info: semmering.com, feuerkogel.info
Ascension weekend!
The public holiday on 14 May makes an extra long weekend possible in the middle of the month. There are also some really good ideas for short breaks:
14 May: Bike park openings in Fieberbrunn, Schladming, Nauders and Trailpark Hochjoch
Info: fieberbrunn.com, planai.at (Schladming), 3-laenderendurotrails.com (Nauders), silvretta-montafon.at (Hochjoch)
15th / 16th / 17th May: A roaring party in the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena
Mountain bikers really shouldn't miss out on this weekend. On Friday 15 May, the trails in Lermoos will be opened with a small festival expo at the Grubigsteinbahn. Including a roaring party in the evening. On Saturday, perhaps the Blindsee Trail will be the next trail to be opened, before the big opening party at the Ehrwalder Wettersteinbahn cable car on Sunday. The eagerly awaited opening of the brand new Zugspitze bike park to. Info: wetterstein-bahnen.at
15 May: Brand new Bikepark Schneeberg opens
Lower Austria has a new trail attraction with over 10 kilometres of trail descents, a dirt jump with airbag, kids' area and chairlift: the Alpen Bikepark Schneeberg offers the complete range from flow trail to enduro line and is to be significantly expanded in the coming years. Info: alpen-bikepark.at
16 May: Season opening at the Kronplatz trail hub in South Tyrol
Dolomites backdrop! The best way to join this party is to take along the three trail tours from Trailpapst Makke, which we recently featured in BIKE in the Trailguide South Tyrol have introduced!
22 - 24 May: World Cup XCO/XCC in Nové Město Na Moravě (Czech Republic)
An event that could be combined with a short road trip to the Czech trail parks. Apart from the fact that it is also an experience to cheer on the fastest bikers in the world at work.
22 May: Bike park openings in Saalbach-Hinterglemm and Innsbruck
Info: saalbach.com, muttereralm.at
23 - 24 May: Vulkan-Race Gedern (MTB-Bundesliga XCO)
Whitsun holidays & public holidays
The Whitsun holidays in Bavaria this year run from 26 May (Tuesday) to 5 June 2026 (Friday). Together with Whit Monday (25 May) and the weekends, these are two weeks off, giving a total of 16 days off in a row (24 May - 7 June).
28 - 31 May: World Cup in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes / france. Pyrenees (DHI/EDR)
29 - 31 May BIKE Festival Willingen
German E-Enduro Championship, downhill race for the big ones and the little ones, marathon, enduro race, expo area with brand new test bikes, pro bikers to chat to, workshops and, as always, wild party hours in the evening. Germany's biggest BIKE festival always delivers. Info: bike-festival.com
29 - 31 May: Grand opening party at the Dolomiti Paganella Bike Park
100 kilometres of trails: For 5 years now, the bike park on Brenta and Lake Molveno has been rocked out of hibernation with a big music festival. An event that you have to experience! Info: paganellabikepark.com
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
