Rumours swirl around Norwegian bike park
According to a series of reports on Norwegian mountain bike site Terrengsykkel, a review of operations at the Hafjell resort has left summer (bike) operations in doubt. Such rumours are hardly new- but the current round has the Internet riders organized to encourage new owners AlpinCo to keep the bike park running.
With successful 2012 and 2013 World Cup downhill stops under its belt and a contract in place to host the 2014 World Championships, Hafjell has established itself as one of Norway’s prime mountain bike destinations (see story in Singletrack issue 82 for more). Despite showing annual profits from 2008-2010, the resort is said to have lost approximately NOK 3.9m (approximately £380,000) in each 2011 and 2012. Summer operations are not singled out but, despite steady growth on the mountain bike side, are not yet thought to be profitable.
While AlpinCo has had said little publicly on the matter, riders have rallied around the cause, taking to social media in support of Hafjell. Those who have made holiday plans are uncertain of how to proceed and owners of properties in the area are concerned about their investments. Anyone looking to encourage the resort to continue offering mountain bike facilities is urged to follow Ikke legg ned Hafjell Bikepark / Save Hafjel bike park on Facebook and to use/follow the #savehafjellbikepark hashtag on Twitter.