This year's VPACE Kids Cup had its first stop in Willingen as part of the Bike Festival. 120 kids lined up at the start of the specially prepared course at the foot of the Ettelsberg in perfect conditions.

The time had finally come and the VPACE Kids Cup opened its season. As the first of a total of six stops, the series for the very youngsters made a stop in the Sauerland. The venue was the Bikepark Willingen, while the Bike Festival provided the setting. The external conditions were almost perfect, even if it looked like rain from time to time later on, the weather held out.

As always in Willingen, the iXS Downhill Cup was running alongside the kids' race, which meant that some of the stars were within easy reach. None other than Max Hartenstern took the opportunity to greet the participants and give them a few good tips, in particular that the focus should be on having fun.

The Course

As in previous years, a special course was created for the race. The Dirtworks crew came up with a few cool features and so the course included a rock garden, a small whoop section, smaller jumps, berms, off-camper and of course the obligatory grassy bends. The course was lined with parents and, of course, visitors to the festival who wanted to take a look at the future of downhill racing.

The Winner

Of course, everyone won again - after all, it was all about a good time on the bike. But of course there were also kids who were so fast that they ended up on the podium.

Preview

The series continues in just a few days, as the next stop is in Winterberg at the iXS Dirt Masters. The festival starts on Thursday with the second race of the cup.