The Hills Are Alive

“The slopestyle course up here will blow you away, and the things these kids are doing on mountain bikes are just mind-boggling,” boasts Bob Holme, general manager of the Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park and the man behind its new signature event, the Colorado Freeride Festival. “Once people see...

By Colin Bane

July 26, 2012

Audio By Carbonatix

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“The slopestyle course up here will blow you away, and the things these kids are doing on mountain bikes are just mind-boggling,” boasts Bob Holme, general manager of the Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park and the man behind its new signature event, the Colorado Freeride Festival. “Once people see it, it’s like, ‘Holy cow!’”

The festival, which starts with today’s Air Downhill competition on the Rainmaker jump trail, evolved after Winter Park had hosted the Crankworx Colorado event for many years. “We felt that this year it was time to create an event that was representative of our brand…and representative of Colorado and our market,” Holme says, explaining the change.

The main event is the Specialized Enduro, a five-stage race spread out over Friday, Saturday and Sunday that utilizes nearly all of the Trestle trail system. “Last year, the Trestle All-Mountain Enduro was the first of its kind in the United States, and now if you look at the schedule, there are a dozen similar events, so we’ve started something fun here,” Holme says. Other weekend events include the Shimano Slopestyle competition and Epic Singletrack Cross Country race on Saturday, and the In-tergalactic Pond Crossing — a spectator favorite — on Sunday. The festival is free to spectators; for more information, or to register for individual events, visit www.coloradofreeridefestival.com.
July 26-29, 2012

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