New safety concepts in mountain bike parks: a driving force for sustainable sports tourism
Summer tourism becomes more and more important in alpine regions due to relatively mild winters and a shift of the tourists interests towards action and fun. Thereby, mountain bike (MTB) parks offer a good possibility to use the existing winter infrastructure. However, there is no common experience about the general signposting of MTB trails, the loads experienced by the riders, the optimal constructions of jumps and the use of PPE. Therefore, the aims of this project are a) to collect data and information about the construction modes and signposting of MTB parks, the forces acting on riders and the necessary protection; b) to create a guideline to enhance safety, reduce injuries and optimize the sustainability. At the end of the project a demonstrative “safe” MTB jump/section according to the guideline will be built or adapted both in Nevegal and in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The project goals will be realized within different WP including state of the art analyzes of bike parks, kinematic and dynamic data acquisition of riders during jumping and the development of a method for their evaluation, in addition to the analyzes of protection equipments. The final product of this project will be a guideline and a demonstrative section/jump enhancing the safety of riders and encourage a cross-border and a sustainable tourism.