After a year's break, initiator Adrian Kiener is hosting the third "Greenhouse Urban Mountain Bike Race", the pump track race in the 80-year-old greenhouse of his parents' nursery. World-class mountain bikers such as downhill specialists Neko Mullaly (USA) and Brendan Fairclough (GBR), David Graf and Roger Rinderknecht from the BMX guild as well as pump track specialist Adrien Loron from France will once again answer his call. Female bikers will be taking part for the first time. The much smaller field of riders will be led by Emilie Siegenthaler.

As usual, the race heats will be held in knock-out mode. Noel Niederberger, the fastest qualifier, opens the race and continues in a seemingly playful manner, run after run. The same goes for Adrien Loron, who reduced his time to 28 seconds in the penultimate run and knocked out his semi-final opponent Brendan Fairclough. David Graf, a hot candidate for victory, eliminates himself in the quarter-finals. Shortly after the start, he got caught up after the jump and catapulted over the handlebars into the greenhouse tunnel.

After Guennet Chaney wins the small final against Brendan Fairclough, the tension rises for the race for first place. Niederberger starts first and makes a strong start. The clock stops after 29 seconds. With a perfect run, his opponent Loron's chances are still open. In fact, the nimble Frenchman has a narrow lead at the intermediate time. But on the very next bend, he pulls up a little too high and slips out with his rear wheel over the berm - victory lost. Noel Niederberger is therefore the winner of the third edition of Greenhouse.

Loron, who lost out, takes it sportingly and is more excited about the special race: "A pump track race in a greenhouse is really cool, I've never seen anything like it before. The atmosphere around this really challenging track was also unique. I've also never ridden such a long pump track race before. The race was really tough right up to the last final run."

Siegenthaler pumps his way to premiere victory
For the first time, the women are also taking part - albeit on a shortened course. Nevertheless, the race promises no less excitement and so the spectators crowd together in the best seats. However, the atmosphere rises tentatively, which can also be attributed to the restrained moderation. As the race progresses, the spectators come out of the bush more and more and just in time for the last two duels, the noise level is also worthy of the final.

This is opened by the two downhill specialists Géraldine Fink and Lea Rutz in the battle for third place on the podium. Fink, who had already set a top time on the Greenhouse pump track, once again came out on top and was delighted with third place.

Austrian Angie Hohenwarter opens the duel for first place. Powerful and nimble, she shot down the corrugated track in the greenhouse - fast, but perhaps not fast enough. Because Siegenthaler's time from the semi-final was already faster. Nothing changes in the final. Siegenthaler pulls through flawlessly and wins the premiere at the Greenhouse Race.

Countless hours of work and sleepless nights
Adrian Kiener's pump track race in his parents' disused greenhouse achieved cult status after the second edition in 2013. The third, even bigger edition of this mountain bike happening, in the middle of Ostermundigen, could not be held the following year. Kiener's plan to double the size of the course was simply too big - but not too big to shelve the project. Together with his partner, the enthusiasm of his parents and numerous strong hands, the former 4x pro is tackling the mammoth "Greenhouse Urban Mountain Bike Race 2015" project.

Excluding all the preparatory work, Adrian Kiener took a month to set up. The small, existing section of the course had to be completed and the infrastructure set up. After countless sleepless nights and calluses on his hands, the crew around initiator Adrian Kiener managed to get the track ready for the race. He is only able to test the track for the first time on Friday before the official start of training.
The timing system also has its work cut out. Although the race is held in a knockout system, the same program cannot simply be used as in the 4x. Timing expert Florian Gärtner ponders for around 80 hours until the system and the display on the numerous screens work as they should. All in all, an enormous effort to offer mountain bike fans a unique and valuable spectacle without actually earning any money.

After the first two Greenhouse races, expectations were high for the third event. This time too, Kiener is able to fulfill these expectations with the racing spectacle and the side events such as the gold sprint or the party afterwards. Roger Rinderknecht, the current national BMX coach, is also delighted: "The race was amazing, but I think it's even better that Adrian had the courage to realize this huge project. Everything is bigger and more spectacular and yet the atmosphere is still the same as it was two years ago."
The event has grown steadily and has now reached its current size. In terms of route length, event area and manageability. But the third edition is also crying out for a repeat, because the Greenhouse Urban Mountain Bike Race with its unique atmosphere is an enrichment for the sport of mountain biking.

www.greenhouserace.com