The 15th iXS Dirt Masters in Winterberg took place at the end of May 2022. Work is already underway for the next edition because, behind the scenes, there is a change of the organiser. The aim of this new start is to bring the festival to the next level.
The iXS Dirt Masters in Winterberg is considered one of the most important MTB events in Europe and has been hosted since 2007 at Bikepark Winterberg. Every year, over a thousand athletes from a wide range of disciplines attend the event to compete against each other in front of a huge crowd of fans and enthusiasts.
The 2022 Festival: A Base for Further Development
In addition to the competitions, the event presents a huge expo and test arena with over 100 brands, creating the opportunity for festival goers to test a wide range of new products from the industry. Since the restructure in 2017 towards a participatory event with family-friendly offerings, the quality of the festival has improved significantly, all the while promising action-packed contests that contribute to a thrilling atmosphere.
This year's edition of the festival once again starred big names, bringing them to the starting lines of various competitions. World Champions, overall World Cup winners, X-Games winners, FMB World Tour winners, and YouTube sensations were just as much a part of the event as amateur athletes and young talents. Though the appearance and participation of pros encourages a more interesting event, the festival has remained a major highlight at the start of the riding season for countless recreational athletes.
New Organisers & New Partners
Historically the festival has been organised under the direction of Frank "Lippe" Weckert. However today we formally announce that the owner of Mountainbike Rider Magazine is withdrawing from the organisation and involvement and therefore making way for a new event organiser and owner. The rights to the title now belong to the hostettler group, meaning that iXS will continue to be the main title sponsor. Racement, who has accompanied the festival since the beginning, has been entrusted with the organisation and realisation of the event and are now extending their responsibility to the operational part of the business.
The main goal of the new organiser and its partners is to take iXS Dirt Masters Festival to the next level. Specifically, the professionalism of the organisation is to be strengthened and the media attention, engagement and reach are all planned to be improved and magnified. As a first step, MTB-News.de will have a big presence and will help to present current products and trends from the industry. As one of the largest German MTB voices within the industry, we are excited to be collaborating with MTB-News.de and working on ideas that are to raise the bar and excitement of each festival year to come.
Diversity of Disciplines & Opportunities
Another goal is to maintain and strengthen the diversity of disciplines practised at the event. In particular, younger generations should be offered a variety of opportunities to take part in different competitions. One thing is clear - an improved Enduro competition is planned to be offered in the years to come. Since some ten years ago, the festival in Winterberg was considered a pioneer within the Enduro scene. Now, it is due time to take a step further with this specific riding discipline.
For the first time, the German Enduro Championship will be held in Winterberg, which alone is an exclamation mark in the new chapter. The track building crew from Dirtworks, also responsible for the races in Riva and Willingen, will take on this responsibility for the festival and will be introducing established and recognized enduro organisers into their building team. We anticipate that this competition will be one of the highlights of the festival.
Save the Date
The hosts of the festival, consisting of the event organisation, Bikepark Winterberg, and the town of Winterberg, are looking forward to the future and the further development. We encourage everyone to already mark their calendars for the next iXS Dirt Masters festival, scheduled to take place on Ascension weekend from 18 to 21 May 2023.
All other news can be found on the website dirtmasters-festival.de or on the official event's Instagram channel @ixsdirtmasters.
