Filip Meirhaeghe explores course of BK MTB in our backyard on the Raft

From Friday to Sunday, the Belgian Mountain Bike Championships will take place in our backyard in Beringen. That is why we went to be-MINE with national coach Filip Meirhaeghe to let the Raft loose on the course. The former world champion and silver medallist at the Sydney Games amused himself like a child in the playground: ‘I think it is a beautiful and complete course, the Raft makes sure I have 100% confidence everywhere!’

With a finish in the Baloise Belgium Tour, the organisation of the Exact Cross Beringen and the expansion of the bike park at be-MINE, the City of Beringen has put a lot of effort into the course in recent years. In 2026 it will also host the BK cyclocross and this year the BK Mountainbike will already take place at the popular mine site. It has now been 12 years since the terrils were the setting for this spectacle, which starts with the XCC Short Track on Friday and ends with the XCO Cross-Country on Sunday.

The area around our facility has long been known as a real draw for cycling tourists, with the state-of-the-art Velodrome in Heusden-Zolder, the high-end wind tunnel of Bike Valley and the historic Circuit of Zolder in close proximity. Hotspots like ‘Cycling through the Trees’ and ‘Cycling through the Water’ are also just a stone's throw from the company. Because we are very attached to the Bering soil, we decided to support the organisation of the BK MTB and, with all our partners, turn Beringen into a real cycling city.

Who is better placed to explore the course with us than Filip Meirhaeghe? The 2003 world mountain bike champion (Lugano) - who also won the 2002 World Cup, collected four Belgian titles and won silver at the 2000 Games - is today national team coach. Thanks to our collaboration with Belgian Cycling, he also has a beautiful Ridley Raft in the typical sky blue colours of the Belgian Cycling Federation. With a smile, we set off together on the terrils.

All year round, mountain bikers can visit the permanent trails on Adventure Mountain. These were used as the basis for designing the course of this BK. There are several ‘rock gardens’, each with a ‘chickenway’ so that riders also have a safe alternative each time. At the top of the course, the race also goes through the ski park and on the way there are several drops and even a wallride.

The puffing national coach could not suppress his enthusiasm afterwards. ‘It really is a beautiful circuit, I am always amazed at how beautiful it is here. At the moment the course is very dry and then of course it becomes a fast race. The main focus is on the long climb at the beginning of the circuit. It is very long and particularly steep at the end. You can really stall there and lose the race. The descents are technical and amusing without getting very dangerous.

The sum of the tricky gradient, the technical descent and the artificial obstacles makes this course a very complete race. ‘It is similar to Houffalize, but I like it better. The fact that some things have been constructed does not bother me. This is just the trend in this discipline! This gives you the feeling of riding in the playground. I had fun and so will the riders. Condition does take over from technique here: that long climb puts everyone in their place here.

Like every other Belgian national coach, Filip also has our most suitable bike for this terrain. The First Alderman of Maarkedal is very excited about this full suspension MTB. ‘The bike does what I want and responds as I ask,’ he underlines with a thumbs-up. ‘In addition, the Raft is very aggressive and nippy. In fact, when I misjudge a corner and turn in too short, the Raft does its job and automatically returns to the correct position. So I can let the bike do the work and that gives a great feeling.’

‘Even on the technical sections, I have 100% confidence in the Raft,’ Filip continues spontaneously. ‘It is a bike that is at the top within cross-country and has all the qualities to shine in Paris soon (where the riders of the KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team ride the bikes). You notice that in recent years there has really been a rise of the ‘fully's, to which I myself contributed by becoming the first world champion on a full suspension MTB. With these bikes, you have more comfort. Back then that was an aluminium bike with carbon elements, now everything is carbon and that just makes it more fun to ride. I am very happy to have this bike at my disposal.’