Location: Selkirk, Scottish Borders
Event 8 June 2013
On Saturday 8 June up to 100 elite cross country mountain bike racers from throughout the UK will descend on Selkirk in the Scottish Borders for the 2013 British MTB Marathon Championships.
Joining former Olympians Oli Beckingsale (Endura MTB Racing) and Nick Craig (Scott Syncros Pioneer) on the start line will be 2012 British MTB marathon champion Lee Williams (Gateway Cycles), eight time winner of the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Rob Jebb (Team Hope Factory Racing) and Scottish cross country mountain bike legend Rab Wardell (Alpine Bikes Racing).
Among those fighting for the women’s title will be the 2012 British marathon champion Jane Nuessli (Fischer-BMC), the 2012 world endurance champion, Sally Bigham (Topeak Ergon Racing Team), Amber Southern (WXC World Racing), currently ranked number one in the UK and Rachel Fenton (AW Cycles), who will be determined to go one better after her second place British Marathon Championships performance in 2012.
All of the elite riders will take on an 80-kilometre single lap course that includes a fantastic mix of natural and hand-made singletrack, twin-track forest roads, ancient drove roads and some of the very best man-made trail centre routes at Innerleithen in their bid to claim British honours.
"We believe we have the best trails the Scottish Borders has to offer. We are determined to provide an achievable challenge for all our riders in fantastic surroundings."
Paul McGreal of Durty Events
The British MTB Marathon Championships will be run alongside the Selkirk MTB Marathon, where as many as four hundred ‘sportive’ riders will take on one of three fully marked courses – 25-kilometre, 50-kilometre and 80-kilometre.
These routes that pass through the valleys of the Rivers Tweed, Yarrow and Ettrick will suit families, novices, intermediates, enthusiasts and racing snakes alike.
Course designer Pete Laing, has been scouting new sections to freshen up the marathon courses. For those taking on the 80-kilometre course he is determined to include a few optional timed ‘Enduro’ sections (an uphill, a downhill, and one that’s a bit of both) in order to add a little more spice to those who want to race their mates and have the opportunity to claim the unofficial title of ‘King or Queen of the Hill’.
Paul McGreal of Durty Events, organisers of the 2013 British MTB Marathon Championships and the Selkirk MTB Marathon, said: “We’re really chuffed to be organising the British Championships alongside the popular Selkirk Mountain Bike Marathon.
“We believe we have the best trails the Scottish Borders has to offer. We are determined to provide an achievable challenge for all our riders in fantastic surroundings with a lot of fun thrown in too.”
The marathon weekend’s cycling festivities will begin on the evening of Friday 7 June when Selkirk High Street will be transformed into a traffic free street party for all the family to enjoy. There will be a number of cycling events and activities that spectators can not only watch and marvel at but also take part in too.
The British MTB Marathon Championships and the Selkirk MTB Marathon will be staged on Saturday 8 June 8 2013 and the event will be based at Selkirk Rugby Club. There is still plenty of time to enter. Online entry is via www.entrycentral.com and there are also links from www.selkirkmtbmarathon.com and www.durtyevents.com.
