It was announced last week that four of Australia’s top Mountain Bike Cross Country Marathon (XCM) events will now be combined to form an overall series. This is a first for the Australian XCM scene, which has previously had a broad range of events, from an almost equally broad range of promoters. The Real Insurance XCM Series Powered by CycleNation has combined four of Australia’s premier XCM races into a series. Each race retains its name and status, but those who compete in them gain ranking points towards the series. MarathonMTB.com spoke to Theo Grobler, the man behind the points ranking system.
“Our ranking methodology is what makes it (the XCM series) interesting. Previously there was nothing to tie great events like Capital Punishment, or the Angry Doctor together. Events will be weighted on the size (number of riders) and quality of the field (strength of riders). Riders will be able to measure their performance through the year, and gain a series ranking.”
Having a series for events is nothing new, but a weighted ranking series for XCM events is certainly new for Australia. But far from a new concept, this is what Grobler developed in 2002 while in South Africa, creating what is now the MTN Cycling/Nissan XCM Series. Few other countries have such a well organized, competitive series for XCM events, save for Poland with their Powerade Marathon Series, and the US with the National Ultra Endurance series.
The four events that currently make up the Real Insurance XCM Series Powered by CycleNation are:
– Capital Punishment, March 19
– Dirtworks Classic 100km, May 1
– Husky 100km, June 19
– Angry Doctor, September 24
As the Dirtworks is already sold out, Capital Punishment is almost sold out, there could be a disadvantage with having a series in which you may no be able to compete in all rounds. Grobler understands this.
“Ideally we would have got it together a little bit earlier. However most riders who would be interested in competing in the series would have entered these races already. There are always entries available closer to the date, on various forums. In the future. Way may speak to the organisers and get them to allocate a few entries for riders who may be leading the series, but who have missed out on entries. From the four events though, only the best 3 results count which means that you are able to miss one event and still get the maximum amount of points.”
With an obvious bias to the South East of Australia, we asked Grobler about future plans for the series.
“We will test the water with the first year of the series. However we could have even a couple of hundred events around the country counting towards the rankings. It comes down to the ranking system we use and weighting the events appropriately. We will build up an overall ranking out of many events across the country, which will inevitably lead into more regional based Series.”
So there are exciting times ahead for XCM racing in Australia. Not only can the Real Insurance XCM Series Powered by CycleNation increase the profile of XCM racing in Australia, but it may encourage riders to get to more events than previously, to maintain or increase their ranking. Perhaps the greatest interest may be for Elite racers. Currently, UCI points are available only at the XCM National Championships and XC National Rounds and Championships. In time, a well organized series of races that meets UCI requirements may attract a C2 status, offering points towards their UCI World Ranking. For XCM mountain bikers who choose to pursue their sport overseas, this can help with better start positions in high profile races, which assist in achieving better results.
Stay tuned for more news on the Real Insurance XCM Series Powered by CycleNation via their website.