If you think that racing your bike at speeds of up to 80 km/h through the dark tunnels of an abandoned mine is a pretty stupid idea then you’d be absolutely right. But then Red Bull specialise in taking stupid ideas and making them happen. The Red Bull Race Down To The Centre Of The Earth must be one of the craziest events on the downhill calendar.

Brian Lopes rails a wooden berm

The 2003 event was the second Race Down. The first, in 2001, had been open to just the media and no public spectators had been allowed. This time a limited number of public places were available. You couldn’t buy these tickets – to get one you had to apply on-line and provide a reason why you thought you deserved one. My friend Sam and I had been lucky enough to be allocated two tickets by telling them… Actually, I’m not going to tell you. It was a pretty good reason, we think it has some mileage and we want to use it again. So you’ll have to think of your own…

Mine, all mine

We’d driven more than 600km across Holland and Germany to arrive at the unassuming town of Sondershausen in what used to be East Germany. It’s not the most obvious place to hold a mountain bike race. But the massive slag heaps that loom over the town offer a big clue that something extraordinary might be going on here. The heaps were produced by the Glückauf salt mine. It’s not a commercial mine anymore but for a hundred years until 1991 more than 110 million tonnes of salt was dug out from the mine. What’s left is a huge network of tunnels and caves between 400 and 1000m below ground. I’m not sure what they put in Red Bull but I can only assume that some bright spark must have drunk an awful lot of it to be inspired to think, “That’d be a great place for a bike race.”

Anne-Caroline Chausson

After getting our names checked off the guest list we were kitted out with hard hats and overcoats and allowed to descend into the mine. The lift is the same one that was used when the mine was being worked. It’s small, cramped and unlit, and so the 700m, three minute descent is in darkness. And as if holding a bike race underground didn’t sound tricky enough already, all of the equipment for the event has to be transported via this lift. Timing gear, ramp building equipment, bikes, the lot.

Underground the mine is remarkable. Most of the tunnels are impressively big. Big enough to drive trucks through, which is useful as the lift ride is only part of the journey. To get to the race course itself needs a truck ride. This was actually one of the best parts of the day, the drivers are either amazingly confident in their abilities or just plain nuts but they charged through the tunnels at breakneck speeds to give us an ride that was more exhilarating than any roller coaster.

Mmm, salty

The atmosphere down in the mine is unusual. The air is very salty and a constant 25degC with 0% humidity (as the salt absorbs any moisture in the air). It was pretty uncomfortable for us and we were just watching. Luckily the organisers took care of us with a constant supply of drink but I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the riders to be competing in these conditions.

The inevitable podium shot

For safety reasons we couldn’t wander around the track but instead were asked to watch from certain allocated spaces along the route. We’d got a spot that allowed us to see the start line and about the first two hundred metres but after the race we had the opportunity to walk the one kilometre track and here you really get an appreciation of the level that these guys and gals are riding at. Fast banked turns, an eye-wateringly nasty rocky section, jumps that had been imaginatively arranged over abandoned mine machinery… And for added challenge, as if such a thing was necessary, the track was deliberately left unlit in some sections. This was one race where you really had to pick your line carefully because if you wiped out there were only very hard rocks to break your fall. Watching the riders tackle this most unusual of DH courses was something else.

Party on

If the day had finished then we wouldn’t have complained as we’d had a great time. But it wasn’t over yet. Back on board the trucks and we were taken to a huge cavern that was the venue for the after-race party. This is where things started getting ridiculously cool as we found ourselves in a nightclub 700m below ground, with a DJ was playing some fantastic music and a crowd that contained a large number of very cute Red Bull girls who seem to be employed solely on their ability to wear tight T-shirts – and they were still in company uniform. And just when we were thinking it couldn’t get any better we experienced one of those movie moments when we tried to pay for a couple of beers at the bar only to be told “It’s OK, it’s free” Needless to say we didn’t need a second invitation to make the most of this amazing opportunity and it turned out to be a very long night that ran well into Sunday morning.

All credit must go the organisers at Red Bull and the Glückauf mine for looking after us and making it such a memorable day. If you hear that Red Bull are planning to do this again I’d recommend that you beg, borrow, steal, do whatever it takes to get along because you will have an unforgettable experience.

Results

Men

1. Brian Lopes
2. Cedric Gracia
3. Greg Minnaar
4. Steve Peat
5. Michal Marosi
6. Bernard Guardia Pascual
7. Oscar Saiz
8. Andre Wagenknecht

Women

1. Anne-Caroline Chausson
2. Marla Streb
3. Marielle Saner
4. Fionn Griffiths