The Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp in Sankt Englmar is unique. For 22 years, BIKE has been bringing young mountain bikers together with World Cup riders to offer unique learning opportunities. In 2025, the pros from the Ghost Factory Racing Team were once again there in full force to work with the kids on their fitness and riding technique and talk about life as a competitive athlete. Nowhere else can children and young people get so close to mountain bike stars such as world champions, Cape Epic winners and Olympic participants.
The youngsters at the Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp: highly motivated and fast
As every year, the 2025 Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp was fully booked. 53 children and young people gathered at the Bayerwald Aktivzentrum (BWAZ) Lunaris in Sankt Englmar for the camp from 23 to 26 October. The participants, aged between ten and 16, were highly motivated and spent three days showing just how fast young German cross-country riders have become.
The professionals: always ready to listen
Ghost Bike once again brought out the big names for this year's youth camp: Red Bull athlete, fourcross and urban downhill legend Tomas Slavik was at the start, as were the World Cup riders of the Ghost Factory Racing Team Anne Terpstra, Nicole Koller, Caroline Bohé and Sara Cortinovis. The team was accompanied by professional riding technique trainers, team managers and World Cup mechanics, who were on hand to answer the kids' questions during evening Q&A sessions and at the original race truck. The riders of the Ghost Junior Team also mingled with the participants and provided low-threshold support with a small age difference. The Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp 2025 was once again led by junior training expert Erik Becker.
Biking: wet and cold? No problem!
The weather gods had a few challenges in store for the 22nd Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp in the form of autumnal storms, cold temperatures and sleet. In some cases, the daily morning exercise session with the bike pros was moved indoors. Apart from that, the children and young people braved the bad weather during tours, riding technique training and the final race. Led by the guiding experts from Sportivo Sankt Englmar, the young bikers and professional athletes explored numerous trails in the Bavarian Forest together. The local pump track and a mobile technical course provided further opportunities to improve their skills.
The Kidsbike test: children's mouths tell the truth
BIKE test editor Jan Timmermann was also on site over the long weekend to talk to the children and young people about technology, trends and the BIKE magazine. At an evening event, he and the group worked out the differences between adult and children's mountain bikes and gave an insight into the test procedure at BIKE. The following day, some of the kids had the chance to put what they had learnt into practice and give their opinion on six test bikes. The action was captured by World Cup photographer Thomas Weschta. The whole test will soon be available at www.bike-magazin.de and in BIKE 03/26.
The camp: fully catered for
The participants of the Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp enjoyed three and a half days of full board at the BWAZ Lunaris Sankt Englmar. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the group accommodation catered for the well-being of all the kids and carers at all times. The World Cup mechanic from the Ghost Factory Team, Uwe Kampe, took care of the technical aspects of the young riders' bikes. At the end of the youth camp, a number of high-quality prizes were raffled off to the children and youngsters. Sunday was the final day: everyone gave their best in the small fun race - cheered on by the pros - and in the end it was clear: the Ghost BIKE Cross Country Youth Camp remains one of the most important youth development programmes in German MTB XC sport.
Jan Timmermann
Editor
