Float Line Fest: The Biggest Onewheel Race and Party Across the Pond

On September 3rd 2022 the 2nd edition of the Float Line Fest took place in Oudsbergen, Belgium. This event hosts the biggest Onewheel race in Europe to date. IOWA talked with the organizer Jeroen to learn more about what draws riders from so many countries to gather in Belgium.

The team that built the dream

Jeroen bought his first Onewheel only a couple years ago and, like most of us, he immediately fell in love with it. And, like most of us, he and his girlfriend were eager to share the Onewheel with friends, who always enjoyed trying it out. Together they decided that they needed to do something to bring more people together to ride. Jeroen posted on Facebook and confirmed that other riders across the country would love that to be a reality as well, since we were witnessing a huge rise in Onewheel events in the US.

Float Line Fest: The Early Years

Jeroen wanted to do a Onewheel event and he had a couple of friends who wanted to do a music festival. So, they got together and created Float Line Fest, a Onewheel Racing Festival!

The first year of Float Line Fest was like any new event. Mostly local riders showed up, but they got a few internationals as well, which was awesome to start off.

Then the second year rolled around and things got really big, really fast. The event attracted 60 racers and around 70 Onewheelers total, making it the biggest Onewheel event in Europe to date… not to mention the 300+ people who showed up for the concerts and got to know the Onewheel and try it as well.

About the Float Line Fest Race

The race was amazing! The course took around 8 to 9 min to complete on average, with the top 10 being within the 7-minute mark. The fastest rider completed the lap in just 6:45!

The guys were fast, but it was not all about speed. Racers first completed a time trial lap on the main course followed by a time trial lap on a obstacle course. If you wanted to be in the finals, your time needed to be good in both sections, not just the fast one! 

After the time trials, the finals took place. 4 riders went head-to-head on the main course to see who is the fastest rider in Europe!

In the Pint category, Heather from England took home the 3rd place, Seb from Belgium (who is 9 years old and had only been riding for a month) got 2nd, and Muddi from South Africa took home the win.

In the main race, Jacopo from Italy got 3rd place, Vincent from France got 2nd, and Hannes from Liechtenstein won, proving that the VESC can take over XRs and GTs as the fastest board type.

Hannes won first place riding a VESC board at the 2022 Float Line Fest Onewheel race.

The Future of Float Line Fest and Onewheel Racing in Europe

In contrast to events in the US, there were only two categories in the Float Line Fest race, those being Pint/PintX and XR/GT/VESC. At this time there was not enough racers to justify making as many categories as in races in the US.

As interest grows, the European event organizers are working together to ensure that races will start to adjust their categories next year to have a more standard ranking, and those categories will be equal amongst all Onewheel events in Europe.

Float Line Fest was a great way to end the 2022 Onewheel racing season in Europe. We’re already eager for next year’s races!