Welcome to the 2009 season of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series.
A year of Mountain bike marathon and road sportives is waiting for you. Similarly to the 2008 season we will have once more 5 different rounds to choose from starting with the EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT night marathon in Builth Wells (11th April ’09) all the way to the later part of the summer with the final round in Ruthin (20th September ’09).
 Besides the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons we will host three rounds of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series. You can find all the details on the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive Series on our new sportive website www.gorebikewearsportives.com.
Dates and venues 2009
Here is the complete date and venue line-up for the 2009 season.
Builth Wells – Location TBC (Wales) 11 – 12th April 2009
Exposure Lights Big Night Out Night Marathon (Saturday) and Spring Marathon (Sunday)
Barnoldswick (England) 16 – 17th May 2009 - TBC
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Builth Wells – Location TBC (Wales): 4 – 5th July 2009
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday and the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Bad Goisern (Austria) 18th July 2009
Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series ‘on holiday’
Selkirk (Scotland) 1 – 2nd August 2009
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) including the ‘Extreme-Loop’ and the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
Ruthin (Wales) 19 – 20th September 2009
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive (Saturday) and the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (Sunday)
2009 setup
The MTB marathon will be run in its proven format with signing on, skills classes, pasta party and event village on the Saturday with the ride following on the Sunday morning. As part of the entry fee riders will have free parking and free usage of the facilities and camping. So rather than doing a quick stop over to take part in the marathon we believe it will be well worth coming over for a few days and making a proper little holiday of it. You can find some more details on all our events on the events pages.
 As in the last three years we will have 4 courses to choose from at all the locations bar the 1st round of the series which have the night marathon on Saturday night followed by three marathon distances to choose from on the Sunday. The choice between four different distances will give every rider the chance to find the most suitable ride for their ability but also gives a great opportunity to progress throughout the season.
The MTB-Marathon website
Over the years we have been trying to add as much information about marathon riding as well as about our event to the site. You will find most questions answered by checking through the long list of navigation points you can find at the top pf the site as well as keeping an eye on the regular updates you can find in the left hand column. If you should get stuck or can’t find what you are looking just go to our ‘Contact’ page (link) and get in touch with John or Michael.
CycleActive Skills Arena
New for 2009 will be the Skills Arena, brought to you by the UK’s leading mountain bike instructors at CycleActive. This will be the place to come to on Saturday to learn to hop, drop, manual, corner faster, brake harder and control your bike in testing situations.
“It’s a new format for this season – instead of taking groups off-site we’ll be running focused, intensive 1 hour sessions in a custom built skills arena. We’re building the woodwork this winter, so be prepared for some timber trails and exciting riding,” said CycleActive boss Chris Ford.
We’ll bring you more on this as the season progresses. Skills sessions will have restricted numbers but you’ll be able to sign up online closer to each event. All the sessions are free as well, so take advantage of this chance to learn from the best in the business, and push your skills up a level before the Sunday event.
Skills on Sundays
The Sunday sessions provided by CycleActive have been incredibly popular with younger riders, but also many adults who are not riding the event. This year there will be a split of sessions on Sunday, with those for youngsters alternating with adult sessions. “We’ll use the same course as Saturday, with a few modifications, so youngsters and adults of all abilities can come along and learn something, and have a lot of fun too,” explained Chris.
Teaching great technique to young riders makes a huge difference. This programme of CycleActive junior training is something we’ve seen at Merida events for 3 years now, and many of the youngsters who started with CycleActive back then are now blasting round the 25 or even 50 courses with real confidence. Again, it’s completely free and you don’t need to sign up for the Sunday sessions – just check times on the board when you arrive.
To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk
To book a space on a skills ride email them at admin@cycleactive.co.uk
Entry and event details
Entry forms are available to download from our entry page. Alternatively you can enter the event online. Please make sure you read the instructions and event specific comments before you go through with the ordering process. If you haven’t yet subscribed to the newsletter then please go to the newsletter subscription box in the right hand column and send us your email details. This way you will be informed about all activities first hand.
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