Less than three months to go before the Merida Bikes TransWales 2008 will kick of at White House Farm in Builth Wells.

Entries – now closed

The entries to the event have been going strong and we have now reached the maximum capacity of the event. That doesn’t mean there is no chance to get in any more. If you want to be put on the reserve list then please send your entry form and your payment through as before. We will not cash the cheque till we have found a place for you. If we are not able to find you a place in the 2008 event then we will obviously return your cheque.

The supporters

Besides Merida Bikes the Merida Bikes TransWales 2008 is supported by Buff Headwear (open female category sponsor) Gore Bike Wear (open male category sponsor), Ergon (vets category sponsor), USE (solo category sponsor), High5 (mixed category sponsor), Niner Bikes (single speed category sponsor), Schwalbe Tyres, BikeRadar, Summit Cycles and Exposure Lights MaXx.

TransWales: The concept

The Merida Bikes TransWales – 7 day MTB stage challenge is a combination of linking and special stages that can be entered by teams of two or by solo riders.

The linking stages are long distance rides (40 – 80km) and are completely way-marked. There will be a pre-set time limit which every team will try to get as close as possible to without breaking it. If however, a rider comes in after the pre-set time limit penalty seconds will be added to the following timed sections. This requires the team to work together, making sure that their skills and equipment are up to the job and helping each other out when necessary.

The special stages are themselves optional for the competitors. If a rider is not going for the ‘crown’ he or she can simply sit out the special stages or just enjoy them as a fun-loaded singletrack fix without worrying about the time. The special stages will be run as either relay or pairs.

Time trials require a mixture of skills; “Who is the strongest climber?”, “Who is the better descender?”, “What bike is the right one for the event?”, “Can I go flat out for the whole distance or do I still have to pace myself?” will be discussed in the minutes leading up to the start and weeks before the event gets going.

The course

Over the last few months John Lloyd has been working hard putting the new course together. For all the riders who have been to the 2006 event or have followed the stages via the media coverage the course has been more or less completely redone, taken in some of the great riding in the south and south west of Builth Wells plus spending a fair amount of time in the beautiful and challenging Brechfa Forrest.

It also runs in the opposite direction, giving the parts which were featured in the launch event an interesting twist. The stage breakdown on the website shows the basic details on the stages. We will update the page closer to the event by adding start and finish locations.