The inaugural Fraser Mountain Bike (MTB) Fest will feature the Colorado State Championship of Dual Slalom, a short course XC race, on site camping, artisans, live music and more.

The Fraser River Valley is home to two World Class Bike Parks and over 600 hundred miles of trails through pristine mountain valley’s just minutes from town.

From nice and mellow to adrenaline filled downhills, the trails in Grand County offer riders of all abilities an array of exciting options all summer long. With lift-serviced trails, rolling cruisers, intense downhills and long cross-country trails, the Fraser Valley is a mountain bike paradise.

Known as Mountain Bike Capital USA®, there is no shortage of terrain, and for those that want to push the limits and test their skills against other riders, the area has hosted World Class competitive biking events for more than 3 decades.

King of the Rockies Mountain Bike Festival, Trestle Bike Park Series, National MTB Championships, Crankworx and the Colorado Freeride Festival have all rolled up on the competitive stage and now the racing tradition continues with a new event presented by the Town of Fraser, ”The Fraser MTB Fest.”  According to Allie Heon, business development specialist for the town, “the festival is a way to brand Fraser as a destination for outdoor recreation.”

The idea for this event was inspired by Chris Olivier and Matt Swenson, owners of 4 Bar Wilderness Adventures located in the Ski Broker in Fraser.  Olivier said, “We want to offer the community a wide variety of year-round outdoor experiential adventures.” plus we have some event ideas to highlight “a sport we live and love.”

Olivier and Swenson have been involved in competitive sports for more twenty years and decided to partner on the bike shop and wilderness adventure company because they want to be a part of a growing community and really bring a new level of care and experience to the industry.

Heon said, “The town of Fraser wanted to host this event” and brought $20,000 forward to get it started.  And “the Grand County Tourism Board really stepped up to help us put together a marketing budget.” Contributing $8000 to the event. Heon added both entities saw the vision and looked at this event as a building block for the Fraser Valley outdoor recreation experience. “It will build on our economic development and branding as a mountain bike destination.”  She also said, “We couldn’t have done it without the support of Clark Lipscomb and Grand Park. The Colorado Adventure Park is a beautiful venue and perfect for these types of events.”

The Fraser MTB Fest is going to feature the State Dual Slalom Championships and Olivier said, “Dual Slalom is a unique event.  It reaches an expanded crowd of bmx riders, cross country riders and downhill riders. It is fast and exciting and we really want people to come check it out.”  The event has a cash purse of $4000 for pro riders including a ladies pro division.

The courses were designed by Joe Prisel, a pro in the business. “We were looking for a course that’s fun for everyone,” Olivier said. “Joe is one of the best.” We came up with a course that we feel is a challenging for everyone and every age bracket, kids up to the pros.”

The dual slalom race will start with qualifying rounds on Saturday afternoon and the finals will be on Sunday afternoon.

The Fraser MTB Fest will be more than just races, however. They will feature several fun bike events for all riders, including games of footdown, speedway racing and more. Local artists from around Colorado will be showing their creations and providing art demonstrations throughout the weekend at several booths and the vendor village will be populated by bike and outdoor brands as well as local business. Friday and Saturday night will feature live music, which fits in perfectly with sampling local craft beer and spirits while hanging out in the mountains.  And of course food trucks will be on hand to keep riders, participants and spectators well fed.

Colorado Adventure Park, the host venue has ample space for tent and RV camping on site for a true festival atmosphere. Riding bikes, listening to music, having a couple beers and chilling tent side with friends and family is sure to make the Fraser MTB Fest the spot to be this summer!

Chris Olivier added, “We have a handful of speedsters coming so I know it will be exciting!  The music kicks off tonight at 6pm so get out there and enjoy some Rocky Mountain summer!” Local Parks Thomson goes on around 8pm.  Don’t miss it.

To register for the Dual Slalom, short course cross country and to secure your camping spot, visit: frasermtbfest.com. Hope to see you all at the Fraser MTB Fest this July 27 – 29 at the Colorado Adventure Park.