There are career changes, and then there is Christina Birch. After leaving academia to become an elite track cyclist and winning 11 US national titles, the 39-year-old is now preparing for a rather different assignment after being named as the pilot of NASA's SpaceX Crew-14 mission to the Internatio...

Marking their 25th year as one of the longest-running and most popular gravity MTB destinations in Europe, we dropped in for the second time this season at The Epic Bikepark Leogang last week. Its always a great spot to test out some of the latest mountain bike gear on killer alpine trails and the world-renowned DH track. More on those later. But we also had a few other ulterior motives. Like a quick chance to hone some skills with the Elements Bike School instructors, and to chat with the shapers who build and maintain the trails for an upcoming Trail Tools story we have in the works. Plus, while enjoying sunny summer weather late in the season, it was a good reminder that Bike Festival is coming to Leogang this coming weekendThe Epic Bikepark Leogang: 25 Epic Years On(Photos/Cory Benson)Its kind of hard to fathom that the Leogang bikepark has been running for a quarter century. In fact, it was at another iconic European mountain bike destination where I came to this realization (and a reminder of aging and the passing of time!) Back in early March, I was testing out new tires, wheels, suspension, and (importantly) protection in Finale Ligure when I happened to end up in the same backcountry uplift as Martin Samek. The Trailwerk Wachau founders diploma thesis had been the impetus for the creation of the Leogang bikepark back in 2000 a collaboration between the ski lift operator, the local town, tourism board, a local earthworks contractor, and several other supporters. In 2001, Epic Bikepark Leogang became the first bikepark in Austria with just 4 trails mostly catering to an elite group of expert mountain bikers. In the two and a half decades since, the big jump lines and pro-level downhill tracks are still a big focus. The park has since hosted 2x UCI MTB World Championships and 14x UCI MTB World Cup races, including DH, XC, Enduro, and even the occasional short track, 4x, dual slalom, and eliminator. But now, were likely to see a much wider skill range of mountain bikers in the iconic blue gondolas now including a healthy dose of ebikers, entry-level trail riders & kids, in addition to shredders heading for the Hot Shots jump line. Me personally, I prefer the more natural lines call them enduro singletracks and the classic down & dirty bikepark tracks like the recently updated Hangman I.Bikerumor testing tracks and World Cup prototype proving groundpreviewing new Maxxis Minion DHX with New DH casing on Hangman I (Photo by Joao Reis/Maxxis)In any case, Leogang lives on as an excellent spot to test new gear like the latest Maxxis DHX with its New DH casing. Or Schwalbes Radial casing tires before that. Then, Leatts ReaFlex Chest/Back Protector & X-Flow goggles before that. Or even the previous generation of Scotts Spark XC & downcountry bikes, years earlier.Or to just enjoy time with your family, mountain biking like I did back in my 2024 Editors Choice2015 Intense M16 Carbon prototype2015 Cube 215 prototypeRachel Athertons 2016 Trek Session RSLAaron Gwins 2016 YT TuesTahnee Seagraves Transition TR11 prototypeOr chasing pro & prototype DH bikes for more than a decade. Check out a few from my first couple of years on the ground, for good measure.Needless to say, Ill be returning to Leogang regularly in the future, as well.One-On-One Training with Elements Bike SchoolOne of the big draws for us to head to Leogang on this particular weekend was a planned Ladies Gravity Camp training day being planned by Elements Bike School, the bike trainers located just under the main lift station in the bikepark. The idea seemed solid. Getting a group of advanced women riders together to hone their skills, hitting various natural and built-up obstacles in the bikepark to take it to the next level.The hiccup, according to Elements, is that ever since COVID, most people coming to them to train want individual lessons, not group sessions. I asked my wife and she pretty much agreed. Shed much rather spend some one-on-one time with an instructor than worry about getting grouped with riders below her level that might keep her from progressing.But the good news is (woman-owned) Elements still offers multiple training options for men and women. And group training is still on offer for those who want it. But theyre super flexible with individual and small group training sessions, too.So, we went personal and met with Laura. She focused on a few key techniques that my wife Veronika wanted to improve on Form & on-bike positioning on passive to active drops, then working on balancing higher-speed berming techniques so left turns were as smooth as right turns. Elements has multiple levels of both men and women coaching riders of all levels. And we came away from a relaxed 2-hour session feeling like progress was made, and there was still plenty to work on.Elements-outdoorsports.atBike Festival in Leogang this weekend October 2-4, 2026!Now, if you want to get some bigger group riding or new bike testing on, this weekend might be your ticket.Bike Festival Leogang kicks off this weekend at the bikepark, starting today through Sunday.Theres a whole lot on the events calendar, including a lot of opportunities for you all to check out or test new bikes and gear in the bikepark, join in on several scheduled rides with local pros, and even get in some of your own skills training sessions with Bike Academy, too. There are lots of events for the whole family, as well. Plus, All festival visitors will receive a 10% discount on lift tickets throughout the entire festival weekend, so you can ride the park for even less this weekend.Check out the full details via the Saalfelden-Leogang region tourism board site: Saalfelden-Leogang.comOh, and one last thing25th Anniversary Photo Contest means free trail camsRunning through the end of the season until the start of November, Leogang is running a 25th anniversary photo contest via social media. Enter to win some sick kit here including a new Scott Gambler DH bike for one man and one woman. Plus, the side benefit is that all three of their automatic trail cameras that snap your photo as you ride past are available for free to download. You just search the time you pass each trail location the Flying Gangster wall ride, the Flow Link hip jump, and the lower Hangman II berm.Go ride, then download your snaps to check out your form!Bikepark.Saalfelden-Leogang.com