A common reason for sacking off a XC race is the weather, the chance of it raining are all too high. So its with intrigue, and one raised eyebrow, that news reaches us of the Bontrager Barnstorm Indoor Super XC event, which gets around the whole problem of rain, mud and puddles by staging the racing inside a barn.

On Saturday 22 April Wheeldon Farm near Totnes will play host to the first (that we know of) indoor race with the Bontrager sponsored Barnstorm. An indoor motocross track provides a short , twisting circuit of less than a minute that will bring together riders from across the disciplines to race in an eliminator-style event mixing xc mountain biking, BMX and four cross.

So how will it work? The organisers tell us that it’s a ‘run what you brung’ event, so you could do it on a hardtail mountain, a BMX or even a cyclo-cross bike. The choice is yours.

Riders will get open practice time on the circuit, followed by a couple of practice races, with eight riders racing at any one time over two laps of the circuit. Then we hit the eliminators until we find the Barnstorm champions.  All this to a thumping soundtrack courtesy of the 24-7 DJs.

The event will coincide with the launching of Fortitude, Devon’s latest skatepark, which is situated in an adjoining barn so there will be plenty of boys in baggies doing their stuff and Red Bull goodies up for grabs.

See www.shredevents.com for full details and online entry.