Despite COVID delays, the FSA BIKE Festival in Garda Trentino will be making its return on the 15th- 17th October this year. With less than two weeks away, there is much speculation over how the festival will be conducted this year, and what awaits eager cyclists at one of Europe’s biggest mountain biking events.
Italy has a rich and historic biking culture, and the FSA BIKE Festival held just off of Lake Garda is no exception. A free to enter event, this festival makes the most of the gorgeous Italian mountain sides at its location, and with the area deep in its autumn months, the sights are certain to be even more breathtaking.
Despite the pleasant backdrop, the festival is not just for pretty sights. The FSA BIKE Festival offers a huge variety of tracks and activities for mountain bikers of all ages and abilities, with events for everyone over the three day period.
SCOTT BIKE Marathon back and Better than Ever
Saturday promises one of the festival’s largest events; the SCOTT BIKE Marathon. With an early morning start at 7.30am, the Marathon gives bikers three routes to take, based on their own ability and skill level. This is not to say that any of these courses are a ride in the park- even the shortest course, the Ronda Piccola, challenges riders with a 31km path, with altitude heights going over 1,000m. The Ronda Grande and Ronda Extrema only up the challenge, hosting lengths of 59.9km and 83km, and 2,400m and 3,480m altitude heights, respectively.
This multiple choice gives cyclists of all abilities the opportunity to experience the beauty and challenge of Garda Trentino- an important philosophy at the festival. GPX-route-data, for the first time, is also being provided ahead of time to bikers, which will make this challenging race more accessible than ever before.
Endurance Challenge set to Return
This is not the only big event taking place at the festival, however, as on Sunday at 8.30am the festival will be hosting its ‘Endurance Challenge’; a four stage route, finishing with an impressive royal stage. The course has been freshly routed for this year’s challenge, with more trails for bikers to follow, and a finish line returning back to the festival ground. This event is sure to draw in a large crowd, and for those wishing to witness the winner crossing the finish line first hand, a good spot will be essential.
Events for Everyone
It is not just marathons and Endurance Challenges that will be gracing the FSA BIKE Festival grounds, however. The festival is also hosting a vast range of events over its three day run time, with something for everyone to be enjoyed.
For the little ones, the Junior Trophy promises to give the kids an opportunity to bike just like the grown-ups. Ideal for families attending the festival, this event is guaranteed to give kids the chance to get some of their energy out, and have some fun.
For the adults, the festival also offers tours of some of the latest and greatest products from some of the biggest names in the industry. With an expo featuring new products from over 120 manufacturers and brands, participants have the opportunity to even try out some of these pre-release products- a must for anyone interested in development and technology in the biking sphere.
Equally, for those interested in tech, the festival is also offering a biking course specifically for eMountain Bikers, in the ‘Bosch eMTB Challenge supported by Trek’. Leaving no biker behind, the festival is leaving no stone unturned in terms of activities for its guests. For more information about these events, check out the official FSA BIKE Festival Garda Trentino 2021 schedule.
Cycling Safely
The size and scope of the festival is monumental, and as such, the FSA BIKE Festival has gone out of its way to incorporate COVID-19 safety measures into its weekend of activities. Face coverings have been made compulsory at the event, as well as documentation of vaccination and/ or a negative COVID test in order to gain entry to the event.
With these measures in place, this year’s FSA BIKE Festival is set to be better than ever, setting an example of how to run a festival in these new, unprecedented times.
Still not convinced? Check out this trailer for the event and all it has to offer.
