2013 is destined to be a monumental year for the downhill racing scene: Eight race tracks, on four continents, have been selected and fine-tuned to make the IDF World Tour something to write home about. Or, perhaps more realistically, a reason to post sick edits. (Case-and-point seen above.)
The 2013 IDF World Tour will kick off with Race #1 in Australia at the world famous Mt. Panorama race track (May 3-5) featuring speeds regularly exceeding 100 km/h (per the official IDF Press Release). The second location is set in SoCal (in Pala to be exact) at the mysteriously technical track known as Angie’s Curves (June 21-23). Leaving SoCal, IDF’s path will land the riders in the pacific northwest at the Maryhill Festival of Speed (June 26-30), a flagship event within the downhill scene. Following Maryhill, the Whistler Longboard Festival (July 4-7) is the next item on the agenda. Like Maryhill, Whistler has been a staple in the racing community for years, and this year will feature multiple skate events that will tie directly back in to the IDF World Cup.
After the triad of North American events, the European leg will be under way starting with Kosakov (July 24-27) in the Czech Republic and heading on to Peyragudes Never Dies (Aug 8-11) in France. European organizers know how to run a race, and the European riders know how to ride each course. Both events are on point to be the most gnarly in the tour.
South America will wrap up the 2013 tour with two events: Bogota, Columbia’sFestival de la Bajada (Oct 12-14) and Santa Luzia, Brazil’s Mega Grand Prix (Oct 24-27). The Festival de la Bajada track is a tight and technical one, which guarantees spectators a solid view of the action, while the Mega Grand Prix course may remind you of a video game or two from your childhood. The course appears to have been designed specifically for downhill skateboarding, and we’re not going to be the ones to spoil it for you and say otherwise! This race will be streamed live to the world, so you’d make sure your internet bill is up-to-date when this event rolls around.
We’ll close it off here with some official verbiage from the IDF’s Press Release:
This year will truly be one for the history books as the International Downhill Federation bring the most exciting riders to the best tracks in the world. With our new transponder timing system we will consign the long wait to history and give you the World Tour we have always wished for. Top riders, top tracks, great events - This is World Cup Racing and this is the IDF World Tour!
If you’d like a more in-depth overview of the 2013 IDF season, head on over to their site. Some rad photos to enjoy there as well!