“Darkfest has the world’s longest backflip, the world’s longest frontflip, some crazy good style,” says Théo Erlangsen, South Africa’s top rider and a Maties alumnus.
From 14 to 22 March, the world’s best freeride mountain bikers visited the Hellsend Dirt Compound in Stellenbosch for the premier mountain biking (MTB) event, Darkfest, in pursuit of big airtime.
The event gives riders in attendance the opportunity to push limits on a course with massive features, including a 110 foot jump, with the backdrop of the Vuurberg mountain.
Théo Erlangsen is something of a veteran, being one of the only people to have ridden at every Darkfest since it moved to Stellenbosch nine years ago. “It’s the coolest thing to see how good the international guys are, and how quickly they get comfortable,” says Erlangsen.
The riders in attendance are selected by the co-founder of Darkfest, Sam Reynolds, and live together in one house for the duration of the event. “We’re all in pretty close quarters for the week, ” says Thomas Sandell, who has been filming Darkfest since it began.
“It’s amazing for the younger kids to actually get to see it happening,” says James Kuiper, a spectator and father of an eight-year-old boy who loves the sport. Darkfest provides a rare opportunity for the younger generation to witness freeride mountain biking at a world-class level.
After six days of freestyling the course, with slight delays due to rainy weather conditions on Friday, 20 March, a cloudless Saturday provided the perfect conditions for the riders to show off their skills one last time.
As the riding wrapped up on Saturday, attention turned to the rider-voted awards. The King and Queen of Darkness titles, decided by the athletes themselves, honour the standout performers of the week.
The 2026 King of Darkness is Alessio “Cornflakes” Tonolio, a professional BMX rider from Winterthur, Switzerland. The newly crowned Queen of Darkness is Natasha Bradley, a rider from South Devon, England.
Additional awards, divided between male and female categories, highlighted the event’s top performances. The 2026 winners are:
Insta360 Best Clip for the best piece of captured footage: Matt Macduff (Canada) earned this with a candy bar flip.
Muc-Off Filthiest Style for overall best style: Vernonique Sandler (UK) and Alessio “Cornflakes” Tonolio (Switzerland).
Mavrix Moment for most memorable moment of the event: Vaea Verbeeck (Canada) and Alessio ” Cornflakes” Tonolio (Switzerland).
Kenda Mind Bender for the most mind blowing trick: Elias Ruso (Austria), for his Double Flip on Falcon Heavy, and Robin Goomes (New Zealand), for her Flip Can on the Step-Up.
DeWalt Best Run for the best complete run from top to bottom: Natasha Bradley (UK) and Thomas Isted (UK).
Darkfest 2026 revealed that 10 years down the line, the freeride mountain biking community is thriving, as the sport continues to push the limits on what is possible on two wheels.