35 000 spectators flocked to the fifth iXS Dirt Masters Festival, held this year from 2 – 5 June at Winterberg Bike Park. Over 1300 riders demonstrated exactly what is (im)possible on 2 wheels in the disciplines Enduro, Slopestyle, Fourcross and Downhill.

Winterberg Bike Park offered four days of action, festival and 100% bike sport over the long Ascension weekend. Spectators flocked to the venue from all over Germany and abroad to see the scene’s international stars live in the flesh. As well as tons of cool tricks and top notch racing, visitors were able to party at the live concerts on the Vans Music Stage and to the beats from the Red Bull Tour Bus in the evenings.

The festival kicked off on Thursday with the SRAM XO Enduro Challenge. 180 riders equipped with transponders fought their way through technical trail sections and tough uphill stretches to the finishing line. Marcus Klausmann (GER - Ghost ATG), German Downhill Champion, was fastest through the six rated stages, closely followed by several times 4 Cross world champion Brian Lopes (USA - Oakley/Ibis) and Jörg Heyd (GER - Last).

The iXS Rookies Cup was on offer to Downhill’s fastest junior talent. Of the over 350 registered starters David Brischke (GER), Frank Bunzel (GER) and Andreas Hoppius (GER) were the fastest men, placing the Rookies Cup firmly in German hands.

This year the iXS Dirt Masters Festival once again set trends on the European bike festival scene. The Giro Best Trick Contest and the SKS Slopestyle took place under floodlights for the first time ever. Surrounded by a large crowd and a flurry of camera flashes Martin Söderström (SWE - Specialized) put on a legendary performance. His triple tailwhip at the end of the run amazed both spectators and the jury, making him the clear winner of the SKS Slopestyle contest, ahead of Theo Gustavsson from Sweden and Poland’s Tomas Zeyda.

Sunday was race day. The programme included the finals of the Scott 4X Challenge and the iXS German Downhill Cup. Joey van Veghel (NED - Meybo) managed to remain undefeated through all the heats. Hard on his back wheel across the finishing line were Benedikt Last (GER - fourcross.de) and Klaus Beige (GER - Univega). The ladies also put on an exciting neck-and-neck race with Tanja Hendrysiak (GER - UMF) winning just ahead of Jessica Schmulbach (GER - iRide) and Angie Hohenwarter (AUT - Norco).

The sun was still shining on Sunday afternoon, when the Downhill final took place. The track was extremely dusty but also fast, with Markus Klausmann (GER - Ghost ATG) achieving a best time of 1 minute and 48 seconds, three-tenths of a second faster than Andreas Sieber (GER - Radon/iXS). Logan Binggelli (USA - iXS Factory KHS) took third place. The ladies were also no slouches. In an exciting final stretch several times German champion Antje Kramer (GER - Giant/ONeal) won the race just ahead of Martina Brühlmann (SUI - Specialized/iXS) and Sandra Rübesam (GER - Giant Germany).

Everyone present agreed that the event was a huge success and the history of Europe’s biggest freeride festival will continue next year from 17 – 20 May.