When the national Mountain Bike championships come to Roanoke July 14-20, 2025 Explore Park in Roanoke County will be ready. The events will be held at Elmwood Park in Roanoke, Carvins Cove and Explore Park.
At Explore, racers will compete in the cross-country events, while Elmwood Park will be home to the short track event, and the longer marathon races will take place at Carvins Cove.
To accommodate the race, the trail riding experience at Explore is expanding beyond the current ten miles of riding.
“So since the summer of 2024, when the announcement was made that USA Cycling was coming to the region for 2025 and 2026, our staff has been working with some local partners, as well as USA Cycling, to get our trails in shape for those national championships coming up in July,” said Alex North, Roanoke County spokesman.
I joined Cardinal Bicycle Skills Instructor Dan Lucas to take a tour of some of that new trail.
A lot of this new trail is really cool. It’s just smooth. There are some fun new sections where the trail just flowed.
And for me - one place where it did not, as I ran into a large rock and fell over. But that’s mountain biking.
There are fun features like bridges –
And then there are new jumps. One is about a six-foot drop. For Dan – and other expert riders – a piece of cake.
Don’t worry. If you’re like me – you’ll find other ways to enjoy the course without getting air born.
And the new trail surface is fantastic.
"As you can see, if you’re a dirt connoisseur like I am, this stuff is nice and packed in, super tacky, little bit of sand in it, and it’s just the good stuff," Lucas said.
We saw other riders out testing the new trail.
“It’s good. It’s hard. But that’s a good thing. I’d rather have that than an easy course,” said local rider Josh Shervin.
And while there are already improvements – the best is yet to come, but not until next year.
"Right now, a lot of our trails in our access parking areas are closed until the spring of 2026. And that’s based on the completion of our new greenway project that will open up close to a mile of river run trail that will be great for beginner bikers, strollers, families that just want toto walk at all times during the day. It’s going to be a great venue," said Greg Martin of Roanoke County.
Click here for more information about the National Endurance Mountain Bike Championships in Virginia’s Blue Ridge.
If you would like to participate in the WSLS-10 Blue Ridge Games click here. You must be a WSLS Insider to participate - but it’s free to sign up,