The Soldier Hollow Bike Fest is returning this weekend for the sixth time.
Mountain Bikers ages 13 and up will take to the trails at the Midway-based Nordic center.
Racing this weekend are Union Cyclist Internationale Continental Series bikers, a level below the UCI World Cup series, the pinnacle of the sport. It’s possible many of these bikers are trying to get valuable reps on the Soldier Hollow trails, which will be used for a World Cup on Sept. 19.
In addition to the many bike races running Friday through Sunday, which fans are welcome to take in, there will be an Olympic and Paralympic Day celebration on Friday featuring laser biathlon, ski ergs (indoor Nordic skiing workout machine) and floor curling.
“We’re always excited for this event,” said Soldier Hollow General Manager and two-time Olympian Luke Bodensteiner. “This is actually one of the more fun weeks of the year for us.”
Registration for the races closed Wednesday night, and Bodensteriner said there are nearly 800 bikers competing this year, a record for the event. Including those bikers, he expects about 2,500 people at Soldier Hollow each day this weekend.
“It’s the quality of riders that we have here (that make the event special),” Bodensteiner said. “We have the best young riders for sure in the country and a number of national team riders in the elite categories from the U.S. and Mexico here.”
Bodensteiner said Soldier Hollow was looking to host more big mountain biking events like Bike Fest after last year’s competitions. He thinks the World Cup being on the docket in September is driving even more traffic toward the Nordic center.
“Mountain biking is an action-packed sport. It’s fast and furious,” Bodensteiner said. “There are a lot of really interesting new technical features and rock gardens at Soldier Hollow that are really interesting to watch the riders navigate. … Even if you’re not a mountain biker yourself, it’s really something to behold.”
Tyler Sackett, competing in an age 15-16 race, is excited to return to the Bike Fest for his second-straight year. He has raced across the nation for two years.
“I love the trails and technical aspects of the course,” Sackett said. “My favorite parts will be racing alongside friends and challenging myself with such a demanding race. … Others should come out to watch and cheer the racers on because of how entertaining the races are. You get to see riders battling it out on technical trails.”