What’s where in Meridaworld next year (click for embiggerisation)

In just over six months the first event of the 2007 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will kick off with the third edition of the Exposure Lights Big Night Out night marathon. The night marathon has become the regular opener of the series and will fill that position again in the upcoming 2007 season. Builth Wells, the birthplace of the marathon series, will host two events in 2007 – but be assured that the courses for the two events will be quite different. This will guarantee that the regular Merida Bikes MTB Marathon rider will be kept challenged and entertained throughout the season.

Dates and venues

Highlights of 2007 will be the new additions to the season. The Cumbria Bike Fest is a week-long celebration of biking across the country with something for all riders, from beginner to expert, for kids, adults and families, with guided rides, do-it-yourself routes, demos and not to forget the first ever English round of the Merida MTB Marathon Series. The Lake District offers the perfect setup for a marathon, and with the help of Cycle Active’s Chris Ford as a course designer this event will be one of the focus points of the season.

The other highlight is clearly the Merida marathon held within ‘The Outsider’ festival in Aviemore. Stunning views, some of the best trails in the UK and a music lineup which is second-to-none will combine what today’s marathon riding is all about – a challenge for body and mind, being outdoors and having a great time.

Besides these new events we will have once again a lineup of loved and trusted venues. Here’s the complete date and venue lineup for the 2007 season:

• Builth Wells (Wales) – Spring Marathon / Exposure Lights Big Night Out (Night Marathon): 14 – 15 April 2007

• Penrith (Cumbria – Cumbria Bike Fest): 12 – 13 May 2007
• Aviemore (Scotland – The Outsider): 22 – 24 June 2007
• Builth Wells (Wales): 7 – 8 July 2007
• Bad Goisern (Austria) – Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series ‘on holiday’: 14 July 2007
• Selkirk (Scotland): 4 – 5 August 2007
• Ruthin (Wales): 15 – 16 September 2007

The 2007 series (except the Aviemore round – here 20, 40 and 60km) will feature the four popular route lengths of 25km (Mini marathon), 50km, 75km and the classic 100km course so that everyone can find the right course length. John will spend pretty much the whole winter finding new trails and will try to improve the courses where they need to be improved. Cycle Active will be part of the marathon team once again, showing riders of all skill levels how to improve certain aspects of their riding.

Entry and event details

Entry forms will be available at the end of December but the online entry will be updated well before that (hopefully by the end of November). If you haven’t yet subscribed to the newsletter then please go onto the website (www.mtb-marathon.co.uk) and send us your email details. This way you will be informed about all activities first hand.

TransScotland ’07

Over the next couple of weeks we will hopefully be able to send out the entry forms to the pre-entry list of the TransScotland ’07. If you want to be put onto that list (you will receive the entry form at least a week before it goes public that way) please send an email to [email protected].