There’ve been a couple of important changes to the forthcoming TransWales MTB stage race (12-20 August in, um, Wales).

First up there’s a new Solo category, in response to a healthy (or perhaps unhealthy, depending on your perspective) number of enquiries from those who wanted to take part but couldn’t find a suitable partner.

Obviously if you’re riding on your own then you’ll have to do all of the special stages yourself, rather than most of them being split into two halves as for the two-person teams. So you’ll be doing an extra 30km or so of riding over the seven days.

To enter, go to www.mtbtransuk.co.uk, download an entry form and send it through with the word SOLO in the ‘team partner name’ box.

The route has also been tweaked following extensive pre-riding by course designers John Lloyd and Michael Wilkens. They decided that a lot of the trails that they were planning to use north of Coed-y-Brenin weren’t up to scratch, so the linking stages have been revised such that the course is now generally further south. Distances and amount of climbing are said to be unchanged, but the trails are better. Can’t be bad.

John and Michael also reached the conclusion that some sort of short-travel XC-oriented full suspension bike was the tool for the job. Obviously not everyone has one of those to hand, but they’ll be helping you to get some added comfort on any bike through a special deal with USE, who’ll be offering a special-edition Sumo XCR suspension post to any entrant for just £60.

Finally, there’s the opportunity to take part in some Proper Science. Dr Paula Robson-Ansley of the University of Portsmouth is running a fatigue study over the course of the event and needs 100 volunteers to help. You’ll need to have two blood samples taken and you’ll have to complete a food diary and health questionnaire. In return you’ll get a comprehensive nutrition and health assessment based on your diet, lifestyle and genetic profile worth £160 plus a warm glow from contributing to the progression of sport science and athletic performance.

Want to know more? Have a look at http://www.mtbtransuk.co.uk/news_guinea.php or contact Dr Robson-Ansley by email or on 02392 843545.

And really finally this time, the entries are in for our TransWales team competition. Look out for details of the shortlisted teams through next week and your opportunity to vote for the winners…