Darkfest just landed itself in the history books when Bienvenido Aguado landed a 100ft Frontflip on the biggest jump on the course. There was something in the air when Spanish wildman Bienve dropped in during one of the main days of riding, when the weather was just right and the vibes amongst the riders and media were that perfect mix of excitement and nerves about what was about to go down. After calling the trick suddenly, the media crew had a minimal amount of time to scramble to the middle of the course and capture the record-breaking jump, which goes down as the longest dirt-to-dirt Frontflip ever landed. The previous record was held by Canadian Tom Van Steenbergen, who landed a 70ft Frontflip in 2014 and hasn’t been broken since.
The invite-only event combines the most fearless Freeriders with the biggest dirt jumps on the planet and always delivers an unbelievable week of pushing the progression of Freeriding and what’s possible on a Mountain Bike. Sam Reynolds, the creator and protagonist of Darkfest, pulled the whole event together in a matter of weeks after travel restrictions eased and the athlete roster reads like a list of who’s who of Freeride, plus some new names that added a spicy touch to the line-up.
With the overall rolling speed in excess of 75kmh down the track, and airing gaps over 90 feet and heights of over 25 feet, the jumps on the Darkfest course are some of the biggest dirt jumps ever built. The course is designed to push the boundaries of what’s possible on a bike, and give the athletes ample opportunity to throw progressive tricks that are taking the sport in a whole new direction. The literally ground-breaking is in it’s 5th year and the event has been held at the Hellsend Dirt compound in Stellenbosch, South Africa for 4 years now. With millions of views and shares of the social content, Darkfest continues to impress millions of fans around the world with the dedication to sharing the content live from the week.
