Some people claim that the Bikepark Winterberg in the Sauerland is the Whistler of Germany. A pretty self-confident statement, as the "mountain" in Winterberg rises just 178 metres above the surrounding area, making it more of a small hump. But the course designer of the park is Diddie Schneider. He is regarded as the course designer with the most experience (over 350 courses worldwide) and also built the Geißkopf bike park - the front-runner in the last test. Promising: A total of nine routes are marked in the overview, so the hill is packed with trails and stunts. Bonus points for the range: from easy to challenging, everything is included.
The routes
There is a spacious practice course (tables and bumps) at the bottom of the bike station with workshop and shop - every beginner will find a few lines here to familiarise themselves with the sport or slowly get to grips with it. Unfortunately, we found one or two of the dirt lines a little unrhythmic - it wasn't easy to get through all the jumps, we landed on the table too often. That didn't hurt, but it was a bit annoying.
The "Continental Track" is the next step towards happiness. Here you can ride on crushed sand lines or alternatively on wide, rather low Northshore structures. The idea is good, the track is rather flat and easy to ride. Beginners can try their hand here and experts can jump over the rather short table jumps. Winterberg is teeming with Northshore constructions and wooden ramps, all of which are solid and well-built, albeit without wire. In rain and wet conditions, it quickly becomes slippery and the fourcross course leads to the slopestyle course. The fourcross is very wide and well maintained. The table jumps are moderate by fourcross standards, so even less experienced bikers can have fun here and try out the jumps.
The slopestyle park is certainly Winterberg's trademark - this is where trick fans can let off steam. The obstacles are sensibly built and not too extreme. In addition to a jump box, there are various dirt jumps, drops and a bowl - all great fun. The "Fun Ride" and the "Giro Free Cross", on the other hand, are a little faster in pace. The "Free Cross" is a freeride course made of crushed sand with some disruptive concrete elements. These are intended to suppress the formation of braking waves, but unfortunately they also suppress the braking effect - especially in wet conditions. The route is somewhat monotonous - it goes downhill in serpentines - we would have liked a little more variety here.
The "Fun Ride" is only half as long as the "Free Cross" and also winds its way down to the valley in serpentines, only without crushed sand. Running parallel to it are fairly long Northshore structures. They are nice and wide, but you shouldn't fall off them - they are over two metres high in places. At the end of this section is a 3.5 metre high road gap with a good landing. Nevertheless, there is an adrenaline rush, because after the landing, it's straight around the bend. Downhillers don't really get their money's worth in Winterberg, as the "iXS Downhill Track" is fairly flat and only one kilometre long. So if you want to seriously work on your downhill skills, you will feel underchallenged in Winterberg. Nevertheless, the course is fun.
Information about the Bikepark Winterberg:
- Routes: 6
- Lift: Chairlift
- Start of season: April
- Opening hours: Mon to Fri 10.00-18.00, otherwise 9.00-18.00
- Day ticket : 29,50 Euro
- Bike hire: yes
- Driving technique school: yes
- Info phone: +49 (0)2981-9199909
- E-mail: info@bikepark-winterberg.de
Distances:
- Stuttgart 4 hours
- Munich 6 hours
- Frankfurt 2 hours
- Berlin 5.5 hours
- Innsbruck 7.5 hours
- Basel 5 hours
Overall rating: 8 out of 10 possible points
Dirt jump and slopestyle offers are clearly the strength of this park, which requires hardly any suspension travel. Annoying: the slow lift.
Further information at http://bikepark-winterberg.de/de/
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
