From 15 to 17 September, the Biketember Festival will once again transform the Saalfelden Leogang region into a mountain bike mecca. The highlight: the season finale of the European Downhill Cup. At the fifth stop on the tour, Europe's best downhillers will be battling it out for victory. It won't be easy by any means - after all, the legendary "Speedster" World Cup course demands everything from the participants. In order to take home the last important points, the downhillers will have to give their all once again at the end of the season!
Big names at the iXS European Downhill Cup
In addition to numerous international downhill pros, many hot favourites from Austria will also be venturing onto the challenging World Cup course. Austrian downhill figurehead Markus Pekoll, for example, will not miss the opportunity to compete once again in his final season where he celebrated the greatest successes of his career. Saalfelden Leogang has always been a special place for Pekoll: "Mountain biking is simply lived in the region, you can tell. I'm all the more looking forward to my last appearance at the Biketember Festival. As an Austrian, this is something very special," says Pekoll enthusiastically. While another is finishing his professional career, another is still at the beginning: Valentina Höll is considered Austria's greatest up-and-coming talent. At just 15 years old, the local heroine from Saalbach is still unbeaten in the Pro U17 women's iXS Downhill Cup this season and knows the bike park in Saalfelden Leogang like the back of her hand. This makes "Vali" all the more relaxed about the race in her home region: "I already know the course by heart, so I'm not going to stress about it. Of course you're nervous at every race, but I don't care about the points. The main thing is that I can step on the gas," explains the likeable racer from Salzburg.
Varied supporting programme on all three event days
The season finale of the iXS Downhill Cup is just one of the many highlights of the festival: the SCOTT Junior Trophy will also give the youngsters their money's worth. On a varied trail around the Ritzensee lake, the focus is not only on gaining their first racing experience, but above all on the fun of mountain biking. The excitement continues when the participants in the VIGINTSIX Best Line Contest show what is possible on a mountain bike. Whether it's whips, tricks or the perfect line - ingenuity is required to secure victory at the end of the day. And as if that wasn't enough action for three days of events, you can also browse through the Team & Expo Area or shake it with the Dutch deep house duo DEEPEND at the Ö3 Disco on Saturday, 16 September.
PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS BIKETEMBER
14th September:
20.00 Warm Up Party @ Outback Bar Leogang
15 September:
20.00 Riders Party @ Outback Bar Leogang
16 September:
14.30 Qualification iXS European Downhill Cup @ Bikepark Leogang
18.00 VIGINTISIX Best Line Contest
21.00 Ö3-Disco with Deepend @ Eventhalle Bikepark Leogang
17 September:
10.00 am Final Scott Junior Trophy @ Ritzensee Saalfelden with great children's programme
12.30 Final iXS European Downhill Cup @ Bikepark Leogang
with cool expo area at the Asitzbahn valley station
