BIKE. RED BULL VIDEO. The blue sky with sunshine looked like we were blessed by the gods of Mt. Ishizuchi, the highest mountain in West Japan. The 2nd edition of Red Bull Holy Ride was held on November 12th in perfect weather, with the course at its best condition despite the anticipation of rain. 95 downhill riders gathered at the Ishizuchi Shrine, including top riders from Japan Cycling Federation Elite Class.

Holy Ride wrote a new chapter in the storied history of Kyoto, as the ancient setting witnessed modern competition. Photo © Daisuke Suzuki/Red Bull

Moreover, Red Bull athlete, Filip Polc was invited to the race as well as the top three winners of the last year’s Red Bull Holy Ride. This had made the race even more exciting, and the event site was filled with more than 2,000 spectators.

The race course was made of 238 steps of stone stairway which run for about 500m. Although short in length, the set-up course still wowed the spectators with the heartbreakingly steep steps of 33 degrees at the start point, followed by many more steps and cranks, which was the biggest highlight of the race. The riders aggressively battled to get in a better line side-by-side, racing down the hill, and showed those who had never seen a MTB race how exciting and fun it could be. The spectators cheered loudly when the riders sped up and jumped high at the man-made drop-off section set up in the later half of the course. One of the riders said breathlessly: “I felt like I was falling off the stairs rather than riding down.

Filip Polc and top rank local riders won their way up, and the competition got more heated as the race goes on. Polc and Naoki Idekawa, the runner-up of last year’s Red Bull Holy Ride, raced at the finals. Polc had pedalled his way through the first corner, putting himself in the in-course, and managed to finish the race as the champion.

After the race, Polc commented, “I’ve heard a lot about the disaster (happened on March 11th), but I feel that people here are very strong. I am very grateful that so many people came to see the race here. I will definitely come back for the next Holy Ride if there will be one in Japan.” Red Bull Holy Ride successfully finished with the victory of Filip Polc in site of Japanese god!

MS Racing Team
ms-racing.at
16 November 2011