The first half of the VPACE Kids Cup was completed at the weekend, as the third of a total of six races was held in the beautiful Oberhof Bike Park. A sold-out race with international participation returned to the Rennsteig for the fourth time.

Many people know Oberhof as a winter sports resort where the weather is often thick with fog and bad weather. Every year, the usually adverse conditions are the predominant theme at the biathlon in January. However, the situation is completely different in summer. In addition to the Rookies Cup, the VPACE Kids Cup has been held in Thuringia's most famous sports destination for several years now. And for this event, the resort, situated at 820 meters above sea level, always presents itself with the best conditions. While fog is the order of the day in winter, this time it was the sun again, which you should definitely protect yourself from.

The conditions outside were perfect, so it was worth taking a look at the course. For some time now, it has been a common opinion in the Kids Cup that the courses could become a little more difficult. Of course, the balancing act between too easy and too challenging is very difficult, but already in Winterberg, at the second stop of this year's series, they reacted and included a more natural section. Oberhof has had a very varied course right from the start, with sections of flow trail, off-camper corners and a somewhat steep root section. The course was set out in the same way this year, with the only difference being a small extension at the end. The kids liked the course and so nothing stood in the way of a great race.

As always, after picking up the start number, we started with the riders meeting, i.e. a short welcome and a few introductory words from Sabine. During the subsequent track walk, the parents tried to explain a few lines to the kids, but actually everyone wanted to get on their bikes. So it was time to head back up to the start, get the bikes ready, put on the equipment - helmets and protectors are compulsory - and then the training started. In the younger classes, the kids can still be accompanied by an adult, but the maxi girls and boys have to tackle the course alone. While the youngsters powered downhill, it was the parents who had the uplift job. In some cases, they at least pushed their offspring's sports equipment back up, although the e-bike with a rope to pull it up has now established itself as the more optimal option. After the training session, a lunch break and some rest were on the agenda before the first race got underway. This was immediately followed by the second run, as there were around 130 kids to get through without too much waiting time.

In the end, everyone won again and received their usual medal at the award ceremony. For the fastest three in each class, there were also prizes from VPACE and 3ESSEN and a special medal. The Oberhof Bike Park was once again the perfect backdrop and the biggest thank you at the end was the beaming faces of the kids. Most of them probably slept well in the evening and many will meet again in a few weeks for the fourth race in Ilmenau.