photo courtesy redbull.co.nz.

On December 4, the Red Bull Rock Drop will challenge 80 DH mountain bikers to race to the bottom of a gold mine in New Zealand. The Martha Mine in Waihi is 250 meters (about 800 feet) deep and features slopes up to 70 degrees. Riders will go down in groups of 4 making this essentially a 4X event, though it’s tough to compare this to any race that’s been run before.

Looking at the photos it’s easy to underestimate the scale of the mine but according to the website, trail builders were attached to fixed ropes during construction due to the steepness of the slopes. The terrain ranges from super hard slabs of quartz to soft volcanic ash so there’s bound to be a variety of conditions from top to bottom.

With $10,000 in prize money on the line there should be some pretty aggressive riding on the way down. Red Bull promises “rock drops, gap jumps, mine trucks, free ride and speed lines” and the event is open to spectators. Video preview embedded below.

Tri-Flow and Ray’s Indoor MTB Park are holding the second annual XC Indoor Invitational Jan 15-17 at Ray’s in Cleveland. The race is open to pro riders only and after qualifying rounds on Friday, the top riders will compete in a time trial around the XC course. No word on how long the course is or how many laps the riders will complete but I’d say to qualify as an XC race it should be at least 10 miles long.

Pro mountain bikers including Jeremiah Bishop, Nick Waite, and Sue Haywood will be competing for a piece of the $5,000 cash purse. On Sunday the public is invited to meet some of the pro riders and maybe even sneak in a lap or two around the course.

If that isn’t enough indoor MTB action for you, check out these videos. The first is a 1990s indoor mountain bike race that appears to take place on a BMX track. The announcer says the riders will complete 40-something laps for a total of 12 miles!

This next video was shot during the 2007 Red Bull Ride the Sky challenge. This has to be the most creative indoor MTB course ever constructed.

Who would have thought riding mountain bikes indoors was so common and established?