"A kingdom for a bike" - this would probably be the famous line from Shakespeare's King Richard III if he were living in Switzerland in 2020. He would be referring to the Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide, which opens its doors this Saturday, June 6, 2020, together with Bergbahnen Arosa Lenzerheide. The new kingdom welcomes bikers of all kinds and offers a wide variety of perfect biking experiences for die-hard downhillers, leisurely e-bike riders and families with children. "After almost two years of planning, it's a great moment for all of us when it finally starts on Saturday," says Marc Schlüssel, Head of Marketing at Lenzerheide Marketing und Support AG. Visitors to the Rothorn parking lot will be surprised by a visual highlight, the new finish drop in the Lenzerheide Bikepark. The two oversized BK letters will be completed in the next few days. Added to this are the new trail markers at the trail highlights, which not only serve to provide orientation, but also look regal and make the biking experience something very special.

One kingdom, two bike parks, six regions, 900 kilometers of bike routes

The center of the new bike monarchy is and remains the Lenzerheide Bike Park, which has always been one of the most popular bike parks in Switzerland. With five lines ranging from the blue FLOWline to the black STRAIGHTline, which will once again host the Downhill World Cup this year, there is something for bikers of all abilities. Even more gravity fun awaits right next door in the Alpenbikepark Chur, where you can also "shred" to your heart's content on the local mountain Brambrüesch. However, the Bike Kingdom consists not only of the two bike parks in Lenzerheide and Chur, but also of a total of six regions that extend as far as Arosa or the Albula Valley. In the regions Bear Mountains (Arosa), Red Peak (east side of Lenzerheide), Western Summits (west side of Lenzerheide), Southern Delights (Lenzerheide towards the Albula Valley), Steep Trees (from Parpan to Chur and Tschiertschen) and The Capital (Chur), a total of more than 900 kilometers of bike trails and technical delicacies are waiting to be discovered. New trails such as the "Top Fops" single trail, which connects the June Hütte with Alp Fops (filming location of Danny MacAskill's legendary "Home of Trails" video), the flowing "The Pipe" or the "Urdenfürggli Twister", which rides through tight bends and with a magnificent view up to the Mottahütte, are just a few of the new features that invite you to bike in the Bike Kingdom's lands. The new trails are part of the development measures that will benefit both bikers and hikers in the vacation region. Around 1.8 million francs were invested by the municipality of Vaz/Obervaz.

Successful film premiere of "The Legend of Tommy G"

In collaboration with the Canadian production company Anthill Films, the Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide presented a first highlight in mid-May, which increased the anticipation for the bike summer. It is a film starring Belgian mountain biker Thomas Genom, alias Tommy G, as a legend within the Bike Kingdom, showing the bike region from its most spectacular side. "The Legend of Tommy G" was viewed over a million times just two weeks after its release. "We expected the film to be particularly well received by the bike community. With this high number of clicks and an average viewing time of over three minutes, we can now even speak of an extraordinary success," says Marc Schlüssel.

Calendar of events with bike highlights

The Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide wouldn't be a real kingdom without corresponding festivals and tournaments. From September 4 to 6, 2020, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will kick off with a triple header of downhill, cross country and short track in the Lenzerheide Bike Park. Local hero and reigning world champion and overall World Cup winner Nino Schurter will be able to start the title hunt for the first time this year on the "Nino's Gold Trail by ÖKK" dedicated to him. The annual bike testRIDE event will take place this year from September 11 to 13, 2020. During the test weekend, the latest mountain bikes, road bikes, trekking bikes, e-bikes and components can be tested as usual and lots of bike clothing and accessories can be tried on. Furthermore, the Bike Kingdom Feast from September 18 to 20, 2020 will make up for what was unfortunately not possible at the opening of the season: a big bike festival with Dirt Royale, family races, food stands, bars and everything that goes with it. A festival by bikers for bikers.

Test phase of the new Bike Kingdom app has been launched

The Bike Kingdom app adds a digital dimension to the kingdom that offers far more than just route planning. A variety of different challenges await in the app, which are spread across the entire Bike Kingdom and whose successful completion is rewarded royally. Every rider can intervene in the fate of the kingdom via clan membership - the rewards are calculated at the end of the season. The start of the season marks the beginning of the approximately one-week test phase, during which a selected group of bikers will put the app through its paces. The official release of the app is scheduled for June 16, 2020, but it will be available to download from the coming weekend.

www.bikekingdom.ch