The Bike Kingdom celebrates ten years of the bike park in Lenzerheide | Ride MTB

The Bike Kingdom celebrates ten years of the bike park in Lenzerheide

The Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide last weekend marked the start of further celebrations in the Bike Kingdom. The Bike Park at the heart of the Bike Kingdom is celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer. Reason enough for the release of a documentary film that looks back on the beginnings and development of the park and the sport of mountain biking in Lenzerheide itself. The celebrations will include various attractions such as parties and workshops as well as new features in the park and extended opening hours during the high season.

It was the entire Lenzerheide vacation region that was one of the first in Switzerland to lay the foundations for successful positioning over ten years ago. The potential of the former marginal sport of mountain biking was recognized and, supported by politicians and the population, actively developed as a strategic business area. A bike park was built, constant investment was made and the trail network was expanded, mountain bike events were organized for amateurs and professionals, the World Cup and even a World Championship were brought to Lenzerheide. Today, under the name Bike Kingdom, Lenzerheide is a household name for mountain bikers and a meeting place for professionals, advanced riders, beginners and families with children - a success story that is causing a stir far beyond the country's borders and is far from over.

Start and development of the bike park

In 2012, the starting signal was given for the Lenzerheide Bike Park, which was to be realized on the east side of the Lenzerheide high valley. In the lead were trail builder Rafael "Tschäff" Rhyner (Trailworks), former downhill pro Steve Peat and Lenzerheide Marketing und Support AG. After the first lines were built, it quickly became clear that something big could be created here. This was followed by further lines in 2013 as well as a rescue concept and a permanent maintenance team in 2014, which finally professionalized the bike park. The very next year, Lenzerheide hosted the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the downhill and cross-country disciplines. This was the first event to bring the name Lenzerheide to the world in connection with mountain biking - in addition to its existing position in the alpine skiing sector with the Ski World Cup. The next boom followed, resulting in the construction of the Skillcenter with a pump track and practice jumps at the Rothorn valley station as well as the construction of new jump lines (2016/17). Three World Cups were held, followed by the Mountain Bike World Championships in summer 2018, a highlight that still has a strong presence today - not least due to the world championship title of local Nino Schurter, who is now an ambassador for the Bike Kingdom.

But even after the successful World Championships, Lenzerheide didn't stand still: World Cups continued to be held every year, new lines were built or extended and the bike park was renamed Bike Kingdom Park as part of the repositioning of the mountain bike region. Today, the park offers five different routes between the Rothorn valley station and the Scharmoin middle station, ranging from the simple FLOWline family route to the STRAIGHTline World Cup route, for which ten shapers and seven rescue teams are on duty seasonally. On peak days, over 2,000 guests are registered in the Bike Kingdom Park.

In conversation with those involved from the founding period as well as loyal and new fans, we look back on the beginnings and development of the park and the sport of mountain biking in Lenzerheide itself. The documentary on the 10th anniversary of the bike park in Lenzerheide is now available to watch on YouTube, the Bike-Kingdom website and on social media channels.

Evening operation during the high season

The new construction of the BIG DAISY jump at the Rothorn valley station is the highlight of the anniversary summer in terms of construction. However, Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG also invested in the facilities as part of the anniversary: additional new gondolas were purchased for the Rothorn 1 gondola lift, resulting in a 20 percent increase in capacity. And: the Bike Kingdom Park is now open daily until 9 p.m. during the high season from July 15 to August 14, 2022. The Late Shred will kick off on July 15 with a DJ session and drinks. This will be followed by public photo shoots, photo workshops, jump sessions, Adiletten Rave, Braap Off, Whip Off Session and much more.

bikekingdom.ch


Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.