BIKE Festival Willingen 2025: Wild ride! The highlights of the 1st festival day

The first day at the BIKE Festival in Willingen brought a lot with it. There was some persistent rain at times, but then the skies cleared and the festival site filled up. There was already some hot racing action on the downhill and enduro trails, for example at the Orbea Wild Ride, the German E-Enduro Championship. And then it was the downhillers' turn for the first training session. Everything about the BIKE Festival Willingen and the most exciting news and numerous impressions can also be found on our live blog throughout the weekend.

>> BIKE marathon, kids' action & more: Saturday's highlights

>> The highlights of the last festival day in Willingen

Orbea Wild Ride: E-Enduro racing action in Willingen

The Orbea Wild Ride, which celebrated its premiere in Winterberg in 2024, is the official German E-Enduro Championship. The interesting thing is that the riders know next to nothing about the route! The feedback from the riders was that it was very challenging.

You can see what the riders had to say before the race and what the winner Erik Emmrich, runner-up Torben Drach and third-placed Elias Hassfeld had to say in this interview with Adrian Kaether:

In the end, Erik Emmrich came out on top ahead of Torben Drach and was crowned the new German E-Enduro champion. With a total time of 12:15.28 minutes, the Orbea racer was 14 seconds faster than Torben Drach and is therefore the new German E-Enduro champion. Third and thus bronze medallist was young gun Elias Hassfeld. Afterwards there was a champagne shower... Helen Weber was victorious in the women's category.

>> You can find the full race report and other comments on the Orbea Wild Ride 2025 here.

Spectacular presentation of the new Orbea Rallon

Orbea presented the new Rallon on the BIKE Festival stage. It was rolled onto the stage between two fountains - and in two versions: downhill and enduro. The special features of the new Orbea Rallon: You can customise numerous configurations yourself, for example determine the length of the rear triangle. Weights can also be added for more riding stability.
The fact that the downhill and enduro bikes are based on the same platform is also unprecedented.

>> Orbea RallonFrom 1 to 2 - from enduro to downhill with one frame

Shimano Gravel Ride

The Shimano Gravel Ride was once again an integral part of day 1 in Willingen. For the first time, timed sectors were also ridden, so that at least a little competition found its way into the event. A great mix of fun and challenge.

BIKE Festival Expo with many highlights and activities

Whether it's rental bikes, new parts or fun and games for the whole family: the BIKE Festival Expo once again has a lot to offer this year. Orbea will be attracting a lot of attention with their team truck, which they will be exhibiting on the festival site for the first time this year. You can also find many highlights from the festival site in our Liveblog.