Pics: Jon Brooke
Four down, two to go (3 including the Austria round). After weeks of rain all over the UK the Builth Wells round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series managed to find a hole in the national cloud cover and enjoyed more or less uninterrupted sunshine for the event weekend.
The odds were certainly against a dry weekend after the summer so far. There has been not much else than permanent rain, and with that in mind the event certainly prepared as much as possible for a wet version after last year’s super dry and fast conditions. John Lloyd focused his attention very much on offering courses which could be enjoyed in the rather unstable weather conditions, and following the feedback we received at the finish line and since then on email John succeeded on that front. After 7 years of running a marathon in and around Builth he managed to come up with something new and exciting for everybody.
Almost a thousand riders entered the 4th round of the series which was a surprisingly high number considering the weather conditions over the last few weeks and the huge range of international sporting events (Wimbledon, Formula 1 and Tour de France in the UK) taking place. Everyone enjoyed the new sections alongside the Epynt Way and the never-ending offer of singletrack in John’s ‘playground’ Crychan Forest. If you ever fancy ‘re-riding’ parts of the course and want to find out about some other interesting stuff around Builth simply give John a call (details on our website).
Next year’s plans are already in motion. There will be quite a few extra things to enjoy for the whole family as well as for roadies out there at the 2008 round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon round in Builth Wells – watch this space.
Photos and website updates
Our event photographer Jon Brooke was out taking pics on the course. Pics of (nearly) every rider – searchable by rider number are available from http://sleepmonsters.co.uk/photoshop.php. Jon took lots and lots of images so have a look and see if you can find yourself on there. We will also make some further updates to the www.mtb-marathon.co.uk site once our web master is back in the country so keep an eye on the news in the top left hand corner.
Next UK event after Builth Wells – Selkirk round – worth the journey
Now with Builth being over done with we are heading back to Scotland to one of the most liked courses of the series – Selkirk. We and some of the Merida marathon riders have already been up there in 2007 at the beginning and the end of the recently run TransScotland event. Their feedback was fantastic which fills us with great confidence for the upcoming marathon round in Selkirk. If you missed out on the TransScotland ’07 or want to get another go make sure you make your way to Selkirk on 4-5 August. With the recent increase in entries and particularly entries on the day we would like to recommend to everybody to enter in advance. The online entry is getting more and more popular and allows you to enter and pay in one go. If you haven’t done it simply go onto our entry page (http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php) and follow the on screen instructions. You will also find a downloadable form there which will allow you to go the good old postal way. Entries are still available and if you want to find out more about the Selkirk event go to http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/selkirk.php or go straight to our entry to secure your entry for the 2nd Scottish event of the 2007 season.
And don’t forget when you come up to Selkirk that it might be a good idea to make a long weekend of it as there is lots of firs- class riding to be head around Selkirk and on your way there. Check out http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ for the nearest 7Stanes trail. We managed to incorporate a big number of the trails into the TransScotland and they are superb!
Austria event
With Builth Wells being over for another year in the series turns towards the round in Bad Goisern, Austria. If you haven’t yet been to our guest round in Bad Goisern, Austria (details on our package deal, cheap flights and the event itself here: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/bad_goisern.php) make sure you don’t miss out on it this year. For the super late deciders there is still the chance to enter on the line in Bad Goisern. The package deal we are offering (detail on the Bad Goisern event page) include accommodation, super food and airport transfer plus lots of little extras. DON’T MISS OUT!!! For further info, contact details, time table and anything else you might want to find out about the ‘Merida on holiday’ check http://www.salzkammergut-trophy.at/show_page.php?pid=162.
Share