A festival and three day stage race dedicated to fat bikes will return to the Swiss resort of Gstaad in January.
Running from the 22nd to the 24th, the Snow Bike Festival will feature an expo dedicated to oversized tyres and is expected to draw in both snowsports and mountain biking enthusiasts. While shooting For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore described Gsdaat as “the place that I still deeply love and where I moved to in the ‘70s”
Riders can register for the race event here. There are currently four entry packages available; “Platinum Pass”, “Golden Pass”, “Silver Pass” and “Silver Pass (Multi-Bed)”. All the entry packages include accommodation during the event (January 21st 2016 to January 24th 2016). You have the option of extending your stay by purchasing the “Additional Nights” package.
Stages will be 35km to 50km in length with 600m to 1000m of climbing. Riding times range from 3 to 5 hours. The stage race also includes an Eliminator Night race adding even more fun to the event. No previous Fat Bike or Snow Bike experience is needed to compete in the Stage Race.
Gstaad consists of several well preserved villages located in valleys between 1000 and 1400m above sea level. Mountains and glaciers rising up to 3000m provide an imposing valley backdrop to the forests, streams and lakes, creating the postcard image of Switzerland.
On the exhibition front, the Gstaad Sport Centre will be turned into the Snow Bike Festival Race Village featuring a dining hall, the Fat Bike EXPO, race briefing area, covered Bike Park, shower facilities and two heated swimming pools, providing riders with much needed comfort after hours of Snow Biking through the Swiss Alps.
“Mountain biking is an all year sport and the new Fat Bikes are the perfect match for winter. I am very pleased that Gstaad is the host of the Snow Bike Festival. A beautiful destination with the combination of traditional and modern, the perfect fit for this event,” says Swiss MTB Legend Christoph Sauser, Swiss Champion and MTB World Champion.
More to follow on this event as we have it.