Entries for the 12th edition of the annual Bike Buller Festival have opened. The popular two-day format for the event will return to Mt Buller’s much-vaunted mountain bike park. Dates for 2020 event will be 7–8 March, coinciding with Victoria’s March Labour Day long weekend.
In exciting news, the hugely popular highline slopestyle event from 2019 has been transformed into the first ever Freeride MTB World Tour SLOPESTYLE event in Australia. The freestyle jumps spectacle event is expected to draw a huge crowd near the village square.
Riders will literally risk it all on man-made jumps and perform some highline trickery that has to be seen to be believed.
And the chairlift will run all weekend again so keen riders can make the most of the weekend’s racing and festivities. This will be one of only two weekends for the summer where riders can hitch a ride on the chairlift with their bike in tow.
The festival will also welcome the second edition of a cross country race on the Alpine Epic Trail – long regarded as one of Australia’s favourite cross country trails. The course takes riders on an incredible point-to-point journey through alpine wilderness surrounding Mt Buller. The trail features 1250 metres of elevation and 2200 metres of descent.
Gravity Enduro riders can take advantage of the chairlift with the ABOM Downhill, Gravity Enduro race, and thrilling Super-D format on Sunday afternoon. The Gravity Enduro race will double as the fourth round of the Victorian Enduro Tour. More than 300 riders are set to crank the down-hills and get their heart rates climbing on the uphill sections as they race for the VET title.
A 20-kilometre Corn Hill Grand Prix on Sunday compliments the Epic Trail cross country format and features all the best trails in a ‘royal loop’ of the mountains.
Both the ‘Gravity Gods’ and ‘XC Whippet’ combined-race categories return for 2020. Riders can compete in two different races over two days for the chance to be the overall weekend winner in both gravity and cross-country riding disciplines.
Hundreds of riders are expected to race at Mt Buller for the March Labour Day Long Weekend. An even larger contingent of friends and family are expected to cheer on their riding partners enjoy the range of other, non-riding activities on offer like sightseeing on the chairlift.
Sam Maffett, General Manager of event organisers Rapid Ascent, said the weekend has been designed as a super fun mountain bike event for everyone from hard-core riders to Mum and Dad and the kids.
“Racers can race, recreational riders can enjoy the trails and the scenery, non-riders can do their own thing and we can all get together to enjoy a good party on Saturday night. This is what a riding festival is all about,” said Maffett.
“Mt Buller is Australia’s most epic mountain bike destinations with some of the best trails in the country. Combined with a busy schedule of races and full social calendar, there is a strong appeal for groups of friends to come to the event together as well as riders and their families.”
“The 2020 edition will not disappoint and we can’t wait to see you all there again,” added Maffett.
The two-day celebration of mountain biking features an extensive Bike Expo with a range of social activities, operating chairlift, MTB movies, and kids’ ride.
More information and entries for the Bike Buller Festival can be found here: BikeBuller.com.
Image: Allan Ure from Photos4Sale