A region famous among road cyclists and mountain bikers for its spectacular and demanding routes, the region of Innsbruck-Tirol hosted the 2018 UCI Road World Championships.
Tirol’s regional government set up a strategy over several years to promote the use of bicycles with the aim of improving cycling infrastructure, training and education, developing safety campaigns and organising events. Cycling occupies a key place in the region’s tourism strategy, which is looking to develop long-distance cycle-paths, further increase the region’s offer in terms of cycling and use the 2018 UCI Road World Championships to promote Tirol as a cycling destination.
The “Tirol by bike” campaign promotes cycling among inhabitants, with the aim of increasing the modal share to reach 14% in 2020. Each year, 60 million euros are devoted to cycling infrastructure, while 12 million euros are invested in cycling projects to improve cycle touring, training and cycling safety. The city of Innsbruck counts 130km of cycle paths, and the region of Tirol 800km. The promotion of long-distance cycle-paths – such as the Innradweg – is a priority, and new bridges are being built to improve connections for cyclists.
The bike is a means of transport that does not cease to gain in popularity: the modal share is 11% in the region of Tirol and 22% in Innsbruck. To promote cycling among the youth, schools provide obligatory cycling education, while extra courses on mobility and safety are also proposed in the region.
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