British Cycling have announced that the 2013 British MTB Marathon Championships are to be staged in the Scottish Borders, as part of the Selkirk MTB Marathon, on Saturday 8 June over an 80 km single lap course. This location also hosted the 2012 British Marathon Championships, and it was deemed a great race by most. Although the news of a Marathon Championship has been slow to come, no doubt it will be well received by the many racers who are now choosing to focus on the longer distance format.
Unfortunately, archaic land use laws prevent many true Marathon races taking place in Britain. With such a strong cycling and racing history – it is a shame that the development of this area of mountain biking has been stunted by too few events.
A British Cycling Spokesman said: ‘We are delighted to be returning to Selkirk for the 2013 Marathon Championships. The Scottish Borders have some excellent trails, and it’s one of the few areas in Britain that can provide a course over a single loop. We had other applications which were considered but the Selkirk bid was considered to offer the best combination of date, proven course and established event infrastructure.’
Is another National Champion jersey enough to draw Sally Bigham to the Championships? ©Sportograf
The British MTB Championships are open to male and female riders (19 or older) who are British citizens and hold a full BC or UCI recognised racing licence; with coveted red, white and blue jerseys up for grabs. There are also integrated championship categories for veteran men and women.
For those non license holders who are taking part in The Selkirk MTB Marathon there are three fully marked courses with distances of 25km, 50km and 80km – something for families, novices, intermediates, enthusiasts and racing snakes alike.
All the courses are mainly ‘real’ mountain biking with a fantastic mix of natural and hand-made singletrack, twin-track forest roads and ancient drove roads. Riders will visit the valleys of the Rivers Tweed, Yarrow and Ettrick. They can expect lung and thigh busting climbs that are rewarded with epic grin-inducing descents. The 80km course will also include some of the very best man-made trail centre routes at Innerleithen.
Renowned trail builder and course designer, Pete Laing (7Stanes and Golspie), is already scouting new sections to freshen up the marathon courses and will include a few special timed ‘Enduro’ sections to add a little more spice to the events.
Paul McGreal of Durty Events said: “We’re really chuffed to have been asked to organise the British Championships alongside the popular Selkirk Mountain Bike Marathon. We’re expecting the very best riders in the UK to come and test themselves on the very best single-lap course in the country. We believe we have the best trails the Scottish Borders has to offer and the most popular and challenging course in the UK which is why Selkirk has been voted ‘Best MTB Marathon’ several times. We aim to provide an achievable challenge for riders of every ability in fantastic surroundings with a lot of fun thrown in as well.”
The British MTB Marathon Championships and the Selkirk MTB Marathon will take place on Saturday 8 June 8 2013 and the event will be based at Selkirk Rugby Club.
Online entry is via www.entrycentral.com and there are also links from www.selkirkmtbmarathon.com.
Entry fees are:
80km British MTB Marathon Champs £40
25/50/80km Marathon £30. Entry on the day (subject to availability) £35.
12-15 year olds ride for free over the 25km course but must be accompanied by a full price entry adult.