The Queenstown Bike Festival hits its halfway point today, but the best is still to come as, tonight, riders will plummet from the Ben Lomond Forest in the Vertigo Dirtmasters Downhill ride.
The course runs 3km through the Queenstown Bike Park, down the steepest downhill tracks, to finish in the town's centre on Brecon St.
Riders to watch tonight include New Zealand's Wyn Masters, Cameron Cole and Sam Blekinsop as well as Queenstown's Reon Boe.
The race will be followed by a prizegiving at the Lone Star from 7pm.
Those looking for a spectacle need to be at the Ballarat St car park, where professional riders will be practising today and tonight for tomorrow's hot event, the Teva Slopestyle.
Last year, this event attracted more than 3000 spectators and organiser Geoff Hunt believes the crowd could be near the 5000 mark this year.
The main event begins tomorrow, from 6pm, and will feature riders Cam McCaul, of the US, Chad Kagy (US), and New Zealanders Conor McFarlane and Kelly McGarry, of Queenstown.
Also tomorrow is the Hilton coffee ride, from the Hilton Hotel at 10am.
This will be followed by the free Boiler Room after-party, from 9pm. On Friday, from noon to 2pm, Konica Minolta Bikes in the Park is on at Earnslaw Park and is a guaranteed great day out for the kids to begin the holiday break.
Displays will include unicycles, best-dressed bike competitions for the children and a mini freeride pump park.
For those without children and needing a bit more of a challenge, the Rockn' Roll Enduro trail up Coronet Peak begins at 11am at a cost of $50 per person.
The cross-country downhill race will take place on the Coronet Peak, Rude Rock and Skippers Pack Track and Zoot trails.
The late night League of Ladies ride begins at 5pm, also at Seven Mile.
The festival's main event - and what it was built around - comes this Saturday as the Tour de Wakatipu takes place from the Millbrook Resort, in Arrowtown, to the Chard Farm Winery.
The course covers 45km or 36km for recreational riders and each year attracts 700 hungry riders.
Sport riders start from 9am and recreational at 10am.
Last but not least, the Mega Avalanche off the Remarkables gets under way on Sunday, in which the best of the best will drop more than 1650m to the bottom at high speeds.
Riders to watch are world cup downhiller Casey Brown, Harriet Harper, Remy Absalon and any one of the French men.
The festival will close after the party at the AJ Hackett Bungy at Gibbston, from 6pm.
