The city as a bike park
Most towns try to keep mountain bikers out of their town centres. The District Ride does exactly the opposite: it closes off the market square – and invites the world’s best freeriders to take part.
Buildings become obstacles, stairs become landings, walls become wall rides. Three sections of the course, three characters: technical in the Park District, creative in Dual District, terrifying in the Big Air District. Among other things, there’s a roof drop from a 14-metre-high platform – a height at which mere mortals get weak at the knees just from looking down.
Where history is made
District Ride is more than just a slopestyle competition. It is one of the few competitions that have changed the sport.
In 2005, Aaron Chase won the inaugural event in Nuremberg. By 2006, more than 40,000 spectators had already flocked to the course. In 2011, the spectacle was broadcast live around the world for the first time. In 2014, Brandon Semenuk triumphed. In 2017, Nicholi Rogatkin landed the first 1440 in slopestyle history – a trick that catapulted the sport into a new dimension. In 2022, Emil Johansson took the title. Now, for the first time, the event is moving to Groningen in the Netherlands. The stage is changing. The madness remains.
A first for the women
For the first time, the District Ride is hosting a fully-fledged women’s competition. A long-overdue step for the sport of slopestyle. Six female riders will be competing for victory – including world-class athletes such as Robin Goomes, Johanna Nussbaumer and Harriet Burbidge-Smith. A milestone, not just for the event, but for the entire scene.
It’s not the bravest who wins
In the District Ride, it’s not just about who jumps the highest. The judges assess difficulty, execution, variety of tricks, style, height and innovation. The riders choose their own lines, combine tricks freely and interpret the course in their own way. That’s exactly what makes it so exciting: two athletes can approach the same ramp – and produce completely different runs.
The starting line-up consists of 15 riders, comprising the top five from the 2025 Slopestyle World Championships, the top riders in the 2026 FMB World Rankings, and wildcards:
Top 5, 2025 Slopestyle World Championships:
- Tim Bringer (FRA)
- Chance Moore (CAN)
- Paul Couderc (FRA)
- Ben Thompson (CAN)
- Dawid Godziek (POL)
Top 6, FMB World Ranking 2026
- Erik Fedko (GER)
- Lucas Huppert (SUI)
- Nicholi Rogatkin (USA)
- Dane Folpp (AUS), Jack Feik (CAN)
- Liam Baylis (CAN)
Wildcard via the Birell Bike Fest • Griffin Paulson (CAN) Wildcards via video submission • Jake Atkinson (GBR), Max Fredriksson (SWE), Pim Scheers (NED)
More art than sport
Slopestyle is perhaps the most creative discipline in mountain biking. It’s all about precision, courage and imagination. A District Ride lasts just a few seconds. But behind every jump lie thousands of hours of training – and sometimes an athlete’s entire career.
When, at the end of July, the riders fly over rooftops and glide through the streets of Groningen, it looks easy. But it isn’t. And that’s exactly why it’s hard to look away.
Anyone can watch the spectacle live on Red Bull TV.
Schedule: Practice on 23 and 24 July; qualifying and final on 25 July. • Admission for spectators is free. • Broadcast: live on Red Bull TV, Saturday 25 July, from 15:40 CEST (13:40 UTC)
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
