British Cycling has announced details of the 2013 British Cross Country Series and Cross Country Championships. London 2012 Olympic venue Hadleigh Farm in Essex will host the final round of the national series, while the national championships will be held at 2014 Commonwealth Games venue Cathkin Braes Country Park, Glasgow.

The choice of venues gives UK riders a chance to race on two world-class mountain bike courses, says British Cycling.

The five round British Cross Country Series includes races for riders from under-12s to over-60s and remains the pinnacle of domestic mountain bike competition.

All events have been submitted to the UCI for classification, allowing British riders the opportunity to qualify to race world cup events.

The format for the series weekends will be unchanged from 2012, with practice on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Online entries will open later in the year and there will be an early bird discount for the full series.

The 2013 British Championships will serve as a test event for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The building of the planned trails at Cathkin Braes, Glasgow is already well under way and is due for completion later this year. The Championships will be run by Scottish XC in collaboration with Scottish Cycling and Glasgow City Council.

Venues

After the familiar season opener at Sherwood Pines, the series visits Cornwall for the first time. The Fully Sussed team of Jay and Maddie Horton are the local promoters at the United Downs site near Redruth, which offers a huge variety of all-weather trails. You can get a flavour of what’s in store by viewing the video of their regional event earlier this year.

Round three in June returns to Hopton Woods in Shropshire, in partnership with Pearce Cycles, while July’s fourth round sees a return to the popular Margam Park in South Wales.

2013 British Cross Country Series

Round 1: 24 March – Sherwood Pines, Notts.
Round 2: 28 April – United Downs, Redruth, Cornwall
Round 3: 2 June – Hopton Woods, Shropshire
Round 4: 7 July – Margam Park, Port Talbot
Round 5: 18 August – Hadleigh Farm, Essex

2013 British Cross Country Championships: 20-21 July – Cathkin Braes, Glasgow

For more information see the British Cycling website.