This past weekend, the sixth race of this year’s VPACE Kids Cup kicked off at Lindenberg in Ilmenau—and it took place against a special backdrop: The legendary Absolute Abfahrt was held at the same time, celebrating its 30th anniversary as part of the iXS Downhill Cup. For the young riders, this once again meant a big stage with all the trimmings.

With about 120 registered participants from 8 countries, the race was fully booked. In perfect summer weather, numerous spectators lined the course, providing the perfect backdrop for a day dedicated entirely to the next generation of athletes.

The course followed the layout of previous years but was significantly extended in the upper section—a challenging stretch before transitioning into the familiar lower part of the course. The first two turns were set in the steeper section of the Alpine course, presenting a real challenge. The course then entered a new forest section before merging into the well-known part of the course.

There were exciting battles for the fastest times across the six age groups. In the Mini Boys division, Anton Tröbs (ShredERZ e.V.) narrowly edged out Bosse Hollmann (Dirt Stylers e.V.) and Charlie Groth (DJK Marienstatt/SCBMU). In the Mini Girls category, Raesha Azriyan (mr20 Karlsruhe)—the only competitor from Indonesia in the field—secured the victory ahead of Marlene Adjeroudi (MTB Wendener Land e.V.).

In the Boys' division, Milan Arnolds (Happy Trail Friends e.V.) posted the fastest time, followed by Milo Bednarek (MTB Bielefeld e.V.) and David Sher (ProBike Trip) from Poland. In the Girls' division, Lia Riccius (Trailbears) from Switzerland won, ahead of Frieda Mayer and Amelie Durand (MVS e.V. Saarbrücken).

In the Maxi Boys category, Ole Quiske (Home Trail Krefeld e.V.) took the lead ahead of Henri Russe (Happy Trail Friends e.V.). Finnson Lippold (Ilmenauer Radsport Club e.V.), one of the local favorites, took third place on the podium. In the Maxi Girls category, Antonina Pawlus from Poland took the win; Hedi Müller from the host club, Ilmenauer Radsport Club, secured a strong second-place finish, while Greta Rösler from the same club finished fifth.

Overall, the host club demonstrated that its youth development program is bearing fruit, with several top finishes in nearly all divisions.

The fact that the VPACE Kids Cup took place once again as part of the Absolute Abfahrt underscores the close connection between elite sports and the promotion of young talent at the organizing Ilmenau Cycling Club: While the German downhill elite battled for the fastest times on the Lindenberg, the youngest riders celebrated their own day of competition—with beaming faces beneath their full-face helmets.