Australian marathon mountain biking will enter a new phase of its development on Saturday with 1,700 riders taking to the start line of the first event in the Real Insurance XCM Series, the Capital Punishment.
Organised by AROC Sport the Capital Punishment features some of Canberra’s best mountain bike tracks. Course changes for 2011 include an untimed (non-race) section of 9.5km, and an extended Mt Stromlo single track section.
“The course in summary has much more single track, less paddock, less road sections under race conditions and most people will have time to stop for a quick coffee break and a meat pie in Dickson” said Alina McMaster from AROC Sport.
The aim of the Real Insurance XCM Series is to combine the biggest Marathon MTB events in NSW into a high profile series. The race will take in sections of the course utilized for the 2009 World MTB Championships and the 2010 24-hour world championship events.
“We are stoked that the team at CycleNation have put together the Real Insurance XCM series for 2011. Even better is that the Capital Punishment MTB Enduro will be the opening round of the series. One of the great aspects of the series is that it is for all categories, not just the elites!” said McMaster.
Regardless of riders’ level results will be collated into a comprehensive Series ranking. The brand new results format will allow competitors to compare their performances against other riders across numerous events.
Results from the 2011 Capital Punishment will be available to claim on www.CycleNation.com.au early next week.
In the meantime, you can register on CycleNation and claim your past results. A number of events including the 2010 Capital Punishment, 2009 Angry Doctor and even some events as far back as 2005 can be “claimed” for to contribute to your overall ranking (and possibly give you an early shot at bragging rights).
For more information about the Real Insurance XCM Series and to claim your results visit the CycleNation website.