Mauthnereck

Overview

Mauthnereck is a Category 3 climb in Austria, running 7.9 km from a base at 598 m to a summit of 939 m. On paper it is a modest effort: 341 m of net elevation gain spread across nearly eight kilometres, which averages out to a gradient most fit riders can hold in the saddle. The start and summit sit close enough in altitude that you will not fight thin air, so the challenge is mechanical and pacing-driven rather than physiological altitude stress.

The number that reframes this climb is the total ascent: 507 m, not the 341 m of net gain. That 166 m gap is climbing you do and then give back, meaning the road undulates rather than rising cleanly. Every metre of descent you coast is a metre you have to re-earn, and those hidden re-climbs are what turn a benign average into a stop-start effort that punishes riders who read only the summary figure.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The 4.3% average is a poor guide here because it blends genuine descents with pitches far steeper than 4.3%. With a maximum of 13.8%, the climb has at least one ramp that will drop you out of your rhythm and force a hard, brief effort. The undulation means the steep sections are not evenly spaced; they punch through flatter and downhill stretches.

• Flatter and recovery sections where the road eases or tips downhill, letting you spin and eat
• Repeated short climbs that reappear after each descent, each demanding a fresh surge
• A steepest ramp touching 13.8% that will spike your effort well above the average

Pacing Notes

On a smooth, steady climb you would ride to even effort and let speed sort itself out. Mauthnereck's undulation complicates that: hold a rigidly even effort and you will over-cook the flat and downhill sections, arriving at each steep ramp already fatigued. Instead, meter your sustainable power output so you have headroom for the pitches, ease genuinely on the descents to recover, and accept that your speed will swing widely. Know your ceiling before you start — run a check with the FTP estimator so the steep ramps sit inside your limits rather than shredding them.

Gearing

The 13.8% maximum is what dictates your setup, not the gentle average. Fit a compact or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or 34×34 low gear gives you a bailout for the steepest ramp so you can keep cadence up instead of grinding. Check your drivetrain before the ride: confirm the cassette range and that shifting is crisp under load, because the repeated re-climbs mean you will drop into that low gear more than once.

Summary

• Length: 7.9 km
• Average gradient: 4.3%
• Maximum gradient: 13.8%
• Net elevation gain: 341 m
• Total ascent: 507 m
• Category: 3

Mauthnereck rewards riders who respect its undulation. Treat the 507 m of total ascent as the real workload, save something for the 13.8% ramp, and it becomes a satisfying, rhythmic Category 3 rather than a deceptively hard day.