Finally there are only a few days left until the kick-off of the 2016 iXS season. The first race takes us to Kranjska Gora for iXS European Downhill Cup #1, inviting 400 riders from 27 different nations to celebrate the opening of the season!
It is the moment we all have been waiting for: after a long off-season it is finally time to enter a new season! For the grand opening more than 400 riders will make their way to Kranjska Gora in northwestern Slovenia. In the past Kranjska Gora has mainly been known as a popular host for Alpine Ski races, including some high-profile events like the World Cup. A few years back, it then also made its first appearance on the downhill stage, hosting the European Championships, and—since then—fortunately never left it again. It was Nick Beer (SUI – Radon Magura Factory) who won the European Championships in 2009 followed by Aurélien Giordanengo und Rémi Thirion, while the podium of the Elite Women category was completely French with Floriane Pugin in first, followed by Emmeline Ragot, Céline Gros and Myriam Nicole.
iXS European Downhill Cup – Kranjska Gora 2015 podium
As you can see Kranjska Gora is not exactly a blank page as far as mountain bike downhill is concerned. Actually it rather became more and more popular within the scene during the last few years, especially when it became the last-minute substitute for Maribor in last year’s EDC. And after this incredible debut in 2015 despite extreme time pressure, we are already looking forward to this years’ race, which allowed for much more detailed planning and organization! The track has been modified and prepared for the upcoming race and now measures 2000 meters in length, including an overall 300-meter descend. In addition, last year’s main problem area—a short, but very steep passage with lots of roots after the gap in the central woods—has been replaced by two fast banked turns, which might turn out to be a lot less dangerous than the roots, especially under rather wet conditions.
And not only did the organizers respond to the riders’ needs on the track and during the race, but also throughout their stay in general. There are a number of special offers for riders during the weekend, for example at the vacation home Berghi which offers 3 nights including breakfast and some additional features like a bike garage with video surveillance and a washing area for only € 99,-. For more information on this offer visit bergi.si or send an email with your request to info@bergi.si.
And as if this weren’t enough the organizers also got you covered for the evenings: after all there is a lot to talk about after the long off-season, so just go to the official iXS Cup party and have some drinks with your teammates and fellow riders and take a night off to catch up!
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It is only the 9th season of the iXS European Downhill Cup, but this has been enough time to become one of the most important transnational series next to the World Cup. This not only becomes clear with the huge number of participants, but especially with the numerous nations represented by them. This year the cup offers 6 races in Slovenia, Germany, France, Austria and the Czech Republic.