Organisers of the the Rocky Mountain Marathon Series and Marathon Man Europe Series have announced a merger that sees them form the largest mountain-bike marathon series in Europe. Dates for the now-five race series were released on Monday with registration already open to participants.
The three races that formed the Rocky Mountain Marathon series – the Rocky Mountain Bike Marathon, Garda Trentino, Italy and the Rocky Mountain Bike Marathon, Willingen, Germany – will now be linked to the three Marathon Man events – the Malevil Cup, the Salzkammergut Trophy and the Erzgebirgs-Bike-Marathon.
With four different countries hosting the respective events, participants will enjoy a diverse range of courses across the five races, which will take place on the following dates:
30 April, 2011 – Sympatex BIKE Festival (Rocky Mountain), Garda Trentino, Italy
12 June, 2011 – Sympatex BIKE Festival (Rocky Mountain), Willingen, Germany
18 June, 2011 – Malevil Cup, Jablonné v Podještedi, Czech Republic
16 July, 2011 – Salzkammergut Trophy, Bad Golsern, Austria
7 August, 2011 – Erzgebirgs-Bike-Marathon, Seiffen, Germany
The Malevil Cup will do double-duty, with the longer of its two course options (62 and 102km) serving as the European Cycling Union’s marathon championship event.
The five-events will all count towards an overall ranking, with a rider’s three best results to count towards that competition. Participants who take part in multiple events in the series will also be given a special jersey. Organisers have also announced a reduction in race fees for multiple entries:
– €99.00 for three marathons
– €129.00 for four marathons
– €145.00 for all five marathons
Entries for the race series are now open at www.marathonman-europe.com. Competitors can still enter the two Sympatex BIKE Festivals at www.bike-festival.de.
Visit MarathonMTB.com’s calendar for an up-to-the-minute listing of 2011 marathon and stage race events.