Question: What is Dual Slalom mountain bike racing?

There are lots of different ways to race mountain bikes, Dual Slalom is just one of them. It's been around for a while, so it's proven itself as a good one. It's fun, relatively safe, and a great spectator event.

Answer: Dual Slalom mountain bike racing is a great head to head competition down a man made course usually with gated turns (much like ski racing).

The course usually has man made obstacles such as berms, jumps, bumps and the occasional drop or rock pile.

The courses are short, with a single run usually lasting around 30 seconds. Two racers compete down nearly identical/parallel courses at the same time. The runs are timed and the same racers then switch courses and make another run.

The combined race times are compared and the slower racer is eliminated. The faster rider then moves up into the next round to race a winner from another set of race runs.

The races and eliminations continue until the final two racers are left. Their race is the final and it determines 1st and 2nd places. The last racers that the finalists had beat then run a set of races to determine 3rd and 4th places.

This is a fun race format that moves fast through the race brackets. It's fun racing head to head. You always know where your competition is and it pushes you to try harder. The courses are fun to ride and it's almost always good company.

Give it a try, it's only as hard as you make it.

Dual Slalom racing takes place at local and international events around the world. Just look at the event flyer or schedule to see if it is included.