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Mountain Biking News - August 2008
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Wednesday, 20 August 2008VERNON, New Jersey - Four-time World Champion Brian Lopes is on board. So too is four-time Australian National Champion, Jared Rando. As are U.S. National Champions Cody Warren, Rich Houseman, and Geritt Beytagh. Don't forget about newly anointed Crankworx Champion, JD Swanguen, or for that matter, female super stars Fionn Griffiths, a three-time World Cup winner, and Melissa Buhl, the reigning W orld Champion and U.S. National Champion.
These are just a few of the many celebrated national and international standouts that will be traveling to Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, NJ on August 22-23 for the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Bike Series. They will be chasing a share of the richest cash payout in the sport, as well as an individual event title, points toward the season championship and some serious CBS Sports exposure.
Local professionals and semi-pros also have a chance to steal the show through the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Open Qualifier, capped at 75 men and 25 women, which will grant entry to a select few into the championships. Additional details and event registration can be found at www.48Straight.com.
Whether you are a competitive cyclist, casual rider or just a fan of music, entertainment, and the arts, Diablo Freeride Park is the place to be this coming weekend, as the summer version of the largest sports, music, and entertainment event in the U.S. rolls into town with not only world-class mountain bike racing, but also concerts and a host of social and environmental activities - all designed to empower people to celebrate and connect with the outdoor lifestyle.
For non-professional mountain bikers, an Indy-Cross race will allow amateur and club level athletes to test their mettle and earn prizes by trying to beat a blistering pace set by one of the top riders in the sport on Diablo Freeride Park's challenging racecourse.
Off the dirt, guests may walk the race grounds and take in the Sponsor Expo, Environmental Eco-Alley, and Beer Garden, as well as a free post-race concert by Hell's Belles, a renowned AC/DC tribute band.
Full event information, including dates, times, and locations, as well as registration for the cycling competitions, may be found at www.48STRAIGHT.com.
Each event of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT summer season will receive national broadcast coverage on CBS Sports, representing the most visibility of any mountain biking event in the sport. The event at Mountain Creek will air on CBS Sports on September 28.
In addition to the first stop at Mountain Creek, the 48STRAIGHT schedule also includes stops on September 19-20 at The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, and October 24-25 at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008Faster. Tougher. Harder. No Fuss Events ensure we are properly back to school with an autumn programme of challenges combining the most breathtaking scenery in Scotland with heart-racing endurance courses. All events are enough fun to break in beginners yet still test the toughest athletes in the country. From the beginning of September to mid-October, hundreds of swimmers, runners, and riders ar e set to flock to the Outdoor Capital of the UK for a Fort William frenzy in the fall. It's time to turn over some new leaves...
Fort William Downhill Endurance - September 7
The Fort William Downhill Endurance will be staged on the internationally renowned downhill track at Nevis Range near Fort William - home to the 2007 Mountain Bike World Championships. As one of the longest and most physically-demanding courses on the international mountain bike race circuit, riders of this grueling event will need physical strength, quick reflexes, superb bike control, and an unerring eye for the right line as they speed down the 2.82-km track. They will also need huge amounts of stamina in order to ride the track as many times as possible in six hours!
The Nevis Range Downhill course is a full-on, flat-out, no-compromise charge down the face of Aonach Mor, the 9th highest mountain in the UK. A succession of big jumps and bumps, berms, drop-offs, rock slabs, and technical natural sections provide plenty of challenges for the riders, all the way from the gondola station (at 655m) to the magnificent finish section above the Nevis Range car park.
The Big Ben Nevis Triathlon - September 20
Probably the toughest triathlon on the UK circuit, the Big Ben Nevis Triathlon is not for the faint-hearted. Iron men and women used to smooth roads and calm waters are in for a shock. This epic triathlon raises the stakes pitting entrants against the choppy waters of a freezing cold highland sea loch, the long, loose climbs and fast singletrack descents of Glen Nevis, and the final, monster challenge - a hill run, up (and then back down) Ben Nevis, UK's highest and most feared mountain. Competitors will need not only great fitness levels, but also the skills to handle a 90km mountain bike ride on loose, fast trails and the resilience to make it safely up and down the Ben, a constantly changing mass of loose rock. The Big Triathlon will be demanding enough to challenge even the fittest multi-sport athletes, yet will be accessible for weekend warriors or recreational riders and runners with good fitness levels.
Gallop 'N' Grind - September 27
Gallop 'N' Grind is a fourteen-mile duathlon - a three-and-a-half-mile run, jog or walk followed by a nine-mile cycle (any combination counts!) - on some of the most scenic trails and roads in the Outdoor Capital of the UK - in aid of Highland cancer care. This health-promoting event has been the inspiration of Sharon Fraser, a 39-year old mother of four boys, including three-year old twins, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2006. Her treatment and battle to regain full health has often required long stays in The Belford Hospital, Fort William and the Oncology Ward of Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. Gallop 'N' Grind is a health-promoting event that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of fitness level. There are four classes (Elite, Sports, Leisure, and Walk Only) to suit all ages, experience, and fitness levels.
Relentless 24 - October 11
Relentless 24 is a cross-country mountain biking marathon to test all types of riders. Beginning with a Le Mans style racing start, more than 400 riders from across the UK and beyond will battle it out on world-class trails, from Saturday lunchtime deep into the night, with the event concluding at 12 noon on Sunday, 12th. From 'weekend warriors' to recreational riders and cross-country whippets, the Relentless 24 will test physical fitness, stamina, and mental toughness on a technical, but achievable route, which will take in sections of trail specially constructed for the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships by trail-building guru Mark Hedderwick.
The above events are just a selection from a grueling series of open endurance sports events organized by Fort William-based adrenaline junkies No Fuss Events. The No Fuss programme combines testing challenges of endurance and skill with a sense of fun and friendliness attracting first timers, families, and elite athletes to Scotland's finest trails, waterways, and singletrack. As with all No Fuss events, the emphasis is firmly on participation enjoyment and fun for all involved, whether riders, family members, spectators or support crew. The event organizers go to great lengths to provide good quality facilities, camping, food, and entertainment from start to finish and promise an experience for all to remember.
For more information on these and other events, check out www.nofussevents.co.uk.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008Wooden Spoon, UK and Ireland's popular charity fundraiser, is bringing the Wooden Spoon End 2 End Cycle Challenge at Scotland's John O' Groats on the 23rd of August. The cycling event will highlight Wooden Spoon's 25th anniversary, with an 882-mile distance course to be traversed for eight days.
The course will start from John O' Groats to Land's End on the 23rd of August and will la st until the 30th. Prizes consisting of medals, trophies, and challenge shirts await the winners.
The Wooden Spoon holds annual events such as the Great Lakeland Challenge and the London Marathon to raise funds for the young people of UK and Ireland. The charity has helped raise over £13 million to support more than a hundred projects across UK and Ireland.
For more details, visit www.woodenspoon.com.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008The Rat Race Urban Adventure Series has formally launched its inaugural Australian event in Melbourne for November 22-23, 2008. The cult urban adventure phenomenon, which started in Edinburgh in 2004, has officially 'gone global' and organizers, Detail Events, promise more international (and Southern Hemisphere) dates to follow soon.
Staged in an urban landscape, the Rat Race is a m ulti-disciplined team challenge of navigation, endurance, mental agility, running, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, and abseiling, combined with surreal sporting tests and obstacles at different checkpoints across some of the most challenging terrain.
The Melbourne Rat Race is sure to pack an awesome punch and event crew promise a rip-roaring ride through the very best Australia's sporting city has to offer. Melbourne is a city literally 'built on Sport' with Olympic Games legacy, more stadiums than the entire Premier League, and a Grand Prix racing circuit in the city centre! The Rat Race is sure to make the most of this cornucopia of sporting and urban delights.
Stepping up to the plate are superstar local outfit IDQ, who have partnered with Rat Race Adventure Ltd to deliver the Australian events. Boasting an Everest Mountaineer, coaching credentials with AFL clubs, and the Australian national netball team, ex-competitive triathletes, and Victoria Police Tactical Operations personnel, IDQ is a sporting and performance training agency thirsty for Rat Race action.
Speaking at the Rat Race launch in Melbourne Docklands last week, Andrew McTrusty from IDQ, said: "If ever a city was built with the Rat Race in mind, it is Melbourne - with a staggering amount of places to get wet, dirty, and ratty, Melbourne is set to become the most intense Rat Race on the planet. No doubt we have some surprises in store for locals and guests alike and if you think you've seen it all, think again..."
The Rat Race has now been staged in cities including London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Belfast, and Birmingham and closer to home, this month sees the first Rat Race taking place in Newcastle, with an inaugural Republic of Ireland event being staged in Galway on September 6. It's then the British Isles season finale in London on September 27-28, 2008 for a Capital showdown, complete with the new Outward Bound youth class event taking place alongside the main action.
The challenge then moves Down Under for Melbourne on November 22-23 and further Southern Hemisphere dates are promised for early 2009, which will see more Australian events take place, together with indications of events in other territories, too.
Rat Race founder Jim Mee said: "Melbourne is a venue that the Rat Race feels right at home in. Both myself and Rat Race chief course planner Gary Tompsett have recce-ed a good few times now with IDQ and this will be a supercharged event. We have found the right location and the right partners for the first event out - with the British Isles. Setting up our stall on the other side of the Earth was always going to happen and we wanted to ensure all the pieces of the jigsaw were in place. They are - a great venue, a superb partner, and we know we have Rat-tastic course. From five years of Rat Racing, we have now carefully packaged the Rat Race as a Joint Venture proposition and I would encourage others interested in this opportunity to get in touch. We will actively be growing our global reach throughout 2009 and beyond. Prepare to be ratified."
Those contesting the overall 2008 UK Series title will be fighting for a place on the starting grid in Melbourne. The winners of the 2008 UK Series will be announced after the London event on September 27 and 28 and will join the Aussies on the start line to fight the corner for UK adventure racers; with their obvious Rat Racing experience, up against tough competition from local adventure heavyweights. It promises to be quite a battle in the heat of the Australian summer.
The full scoop on the new Melbourne event is shown on the Rat Race website - ratraceadventure.com.
Friday, 15 August 2008With just over a week to go until 10 More in Moray, the final event in the Benromach Three Tens Series of endurance cross country mountain bike events, Fort William-based No Fuss Events are pleased to report that, despite the credit crunch, entries are already up by 10% on the 2007 event.
Two hundred fifty riders have signed up for the Benromach 10 More In Moray, an event that Fraz er Coupland of No Fuss Events describes as 'the most fun you can legally have on two wheels', and organizers expect that another 50 riders will join them at the start on Saturday, 23 August 2008.
Frazer Coupland, spokesman for No Fuss Events, added: "We are delighted to announce that 250 people have registered for the Benromach 10 More In Moray so far, a 10% rise on 2007 figures at this stage, but we are confident that at least another 50 will sign up between now and next week."
No Fuss Events will set up camp at Milnes High School in Fochabers for the North East Scotland leg of the Benromach Three Tens Race Series. Participants can compete as a solo or relay teams of two, three or four. The course is approximately 10 miles in length and the race run on an endurance format with teams and individuals competing to see who can complete the most laps in 10 hours. This is the second year of the event, which is part of a Scottish-wide series of three races and is the 3rd largest event of its kind to be held in the country.
Those new to mountain biking needn't be daunted by these statistics, however, as the course is completely rideable for bikers of all sorts of ability with a mixture of forestry roads and single track; and not every rider is expected to stay on the course for the full 10 hours!
The spirit of all No Fuss events is fun first and as Jim Barron of Moray Mountain Bike Club said: "It's all about taking part. It doesn't matter if each person on the team only does one lap as long as they have fun doing it."
Anyone over 16 years of age, from those who fancy a bit of a challenge and a different form of fun event, to the semi-serious mountain bike racer, can enter, and with prizes for different categories and many spot prizes, you may even come home with something to show for your efforts.
There is no time to waste - sign up and get those last hours of training in. To enter '10 More in Moray', complete the online registration at www.nofussevents.co.uk or e-mail 10@moraymountainbikeclub.co.uk.
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