Jack Burke wins Ötztal marathon with record time

Canadian Jack Burke, who lives in Tyrol, won the 2026 Ötztal Cycling Marathon with a course record, ORF reported. He beat the previous record set by Mathias Nothegger in 2019 by almost 18 minutes. The race also ended with a marriage proposal.

Defending champion Daniel Federspiel from Imst finished second, while former luge racer Miguel Brugger from Sautens took third.

The demanding amateur race covers 227 kilometres and 5,500 metres of elevation gain over four Alpine passes. Some 4,000 participants started from Sölden at 6.30am.

From Sölden, the route descends to Oetz before climbing to the Kühtai saddle at 2,025 metres. After the descent, riders reach the Inn Valley near Kematen and leave Innsbruck towards the Brenner. The route then climbs 800 metres to the 1,374-metre Brenner, the lowest of the four passes.

After descending to Sterzing, riders climb almost 1,200 metres to the 2,100-metre Jaufen Pass. The route then descends into the Passeier valley before rising to the 2,476-metre Timmelsjoch. A final counter-climb follows before riders return to Sölden from the south.