To achieve the national cycling mode share target of 13%, a large number of promotional efforts are required. The backbone of all these initiatives is a safe, continuous cycling network. Based on existing linear infrastructure, connections between residential cores are to be defined, which will serve as the basis for the establishment of a nationwide target network. Cycling networks are usually planned by experts with the required local knowledge. This approach is only partially applicable for scaling nationwide. Against this background, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection (BMK) has commissioned a concept study for a data-driven approach to the planning of an Austrian-wide target cycling network.