RCG Inside

RCG Bike Challenge 2023

27. 09. 2023

In three days by bike from Klagenfurt to Caorle. All about the highlights of the Rail Cargo Group's sporty teambuilding event. Plus: all the routes to follow.

At the RCG Bike Challenge, cycling enthusiasts from all over Europe have been meeting since 2017 to spend time together in nature, gather new impressions and grow even closer together as a team. This year, the sporty team excursion took the eight participants from Hungary, Austria, Slovenia and Italy over three days and a good 320 kilometres from Klagenfurt through cultural landscapes in Carinthia and Friuli to the holiday paradise of Caorle on the Adriatic Sea.

A beautiful route that, in addition to the one or other challenging mountain stage, also repeatedly leads along cooling waters such as the Wörthersee, Drau or the gentle Tagliamento - one of the last wild rivers in the Alps. At least that was the plan. The fact that things turned out a little differently did not dampen the participants' spirits. Quite the opposite: reacting, reorganising and re-motivating is what makes a Challenge so appealing.

Something is brewing

Apart from the rather mediocre weather, day one of the Bike Challenge went according to plan. But already on the eve of the second day it became clear that the planned mountain stage up the Nassfeld would not make sense due to gusts of wind and thunderstorm cells. Nevertheless, the fans of the steep climb did not go away empty-handed: The Wurzenpass with its up to 18% steep section was a more than worthy substitute and reason enough for the summit strikers Alberto and Marko to do an extra lap.

Good planning pays off

On day three from Tolmezzo to Caorle, the RCG team showed again how well they can assess situations. Despite low clouds and a lot of precipitation, the participants stayed dry almost all the time. So everything was easy? Not quite. A few kilometres before the end of the tour there were two minor mishaps. One was a large hole in the tubeless tyre, which could not be filled despite the sealing milk we had brought along. Another time, the electric gearshift failed and the racing bike was reduced to a singlespeed bike.

The supply wagon moves out

The fact that the entire team arrived in Caorle on time and was able to watch the decisive minutes of the final of the RCG Football Tournament with a good 200 participants was due in no small part to the tireless efforts of Julia. She accompanied the riders on every stage with the supply wagon, provided enough provisions and good encouragement and also brought those two colleagues to the finish whose bikes went on strike shortly before the end. No wonder that during the ride from Klagenfurt to Caorle a feeling like at the Giro came up.