Dave gives it some Bikefest welly in 2005

One of the BM team’s favourite events from the past couple of years is the Bristol Bikefest. The 2006 event takes place on the 10/11 June. What started out as a modest 12hr enduro/XC race fest is now burgeoning into something quite big, with Ritchey stepping up as the main sponsor.

That’s not the only change. The format too gets a major work over. Saturday is now the Ritchey 12 hour Team Endurance day, while on Sunday the traditional XC race of previous years has been replaced by the Ritchey 12 hour UK and European Solo Championship (unofficial) – so you’ll be able to rip your legs off on both days then.

The event is already rather hot, but Ritchey (and Kona, Saris, CycleOps and Sombrio) importers Paligap UK have a plan to spice up the racing. You may remember the amazing feat of Jason Rennie jumping 133ft 6in on a Kona Stab Supreme a while ago. Paligap will be setting up a (optional) ramp in the main arena and will reward riders for the longest or most stylish jump, or both. Paligap will also have a load of bikes for demoing.

We hear the great course will be getting some tweaks. Spokesperson Michael Wilkens says: “We’ll make it a little bit longer, add more singletrack and soften the pain of one of the climbs. Plus it’ll get a nice little ‘bomb hole-bridge’ feature to spice things up. Be assured – you will love it even more.”

Entry forms are now available on the new events website www.bristolbikefest.com. The site will be regularly updated with the latest news and developments from the event.