Crickhowell event 16-17th May 2009

One of the two new location and course additions of the 2009 series is the new event at the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell near Abergavenny. After our excursions to Penrith and the Lake District over the last two years and running of the summer event in Builth Wells since the very beginning we figured it is time to look at another of the beautiful areas the UK has to offer – the Black Mountains.

This new venue is based at Glanusk Estate, beautiful parkland which stretches down to the River Usk. Just off the A40.

The totally new course heads out north onto the Black Mountains, past Grwyne Fawr Resevoir, with fabulous views across the Wye Valley. The route crosses the A479 at Pengenffordd, taking you onto Mynydd Troed, overlooking Llangorse Lake and the Usk Valley. You then descend to the village of Bwlch, and then Talybont, then up onto Tor-y-Foel, with more stunning scenery, this time overlooking Talybont reservoir. The route finally descends into Llangynidr and finishes with the trails in the Myarth woods on the Glanusk Estate.

The Crickhowell round will offer 4 different courses. Starting with the approx. 35km Mini Marathon which is more aimed at the younger and less experienced rider, followed by the approx. 50km Half Marathon. The Half Marathon is more demanding from a technical riding point of view as well as from a physical point of view. On top of that we will have the approx. 70km Middle Marathon and the Full Marathon with an approx. distance of 80km. The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon will take place on the Sunday (17th May‘09). You can find details on registration and start times below.

GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportives
There is no sportive at the new Crickhowell location but if you are interested in getting involved in
The Gore Bike Wear Road Sportives in 2009 then please go to www.gorebikewearsportives.com where you can find all the details on the three 2009 and where you enter the events. You will also find lots of tips and a long list of hopefully helpful FAQs.

The series will have three rounds on offer for the 2009 season.
• 1st round: Llanwrtyd Wells 4th July 2009
• 2nd round: Selkirk 1st August 2009
• 3rd round: Ruthin 19th September 2009


Course Profile Download:

Download - Further course details (including profiles) CLICK HERE - PDF File: 120 KB

Camping, registration and start time:
Camping will be available (included in the entry fee) from Friday night through to Monday morning at the Glanusk Estate. This location is only a little way away from the town centre in Crickhowell which has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops and is generally a nice place to go for a stroll.

Start times:
- The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon ride will start at 10am on Sunday the 17th May '09 at the Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell.

Registration opening times:
Saturday from 12pm (noon) - 8pm (Please note that the registration is not open on a Friday or Saturday morning due to have NO Road Sportive at the Crickhowell location)
Sunday from 7 - 9am

Entry fees:
- The entry fee for the approx. 50, 75 and 100km Merida Bikes MTB Marathon ride is £30 per rider and £25 per rider for the approx. 25km Mini Marathon. If you are in between 12-15 years old and are taking part in the Mini Marathon then your entry fee is only £20 rather than £25.

Your entry fee for the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon includes:

1. Ride entry
2. Free pasta party (held on the Saturday night before the ride on Sunday)
3. Free usage of service stations
4. Free usage of facilities
5. Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Saturday)
6. Finishing T-shirt
7. Free camping and parking


Helping Hands
Keep yourself fit to ride with a little help
MTB Works offers first class maintenance, and pre- and post race treatments to athletes. They provide advice on injuries, self care, stretching and maintenance routines, using a wide range of techniques from orthopaedic massage and facilitated stretching to electro-acupuncture and cryotherapy. In addition to hands-on work they also supply sports supports, taping, medicated anti-inflammatory plasters, anti-contusion liniments and advice on sports nutrition. These services will be available throughout the series – see www.mtbworks.com for more.

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.

Location and our man on the ground:
The Glanusk Estate in Crickhowell is the location for the Crickhowell round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon (17th May 2009). To find out more about the Glanusk Estate and for directions please go to:www.glanuskestate.com/.

Our man on the ground in Crickhowell is John Lloyd – I don’t think we have to introduce him at all. John is the main man behind the series and an expert when it comes to putting some of the best enduro courses in the UK together. He spends lots of hours in the black mountains training and is always looking out for sections and trails he can put in one of the future events. Give him a ring on 01982 552923 if you have any more specific questions.

We will add any course news and last minute updates to our regular newsletter. If you have not subscribed yet please go onto the home page and click the newsletter button on the right hand side.

CRICKHOWELL
Crickhowell (population about 2000) is a thriving market town snuggling between the softly rounded Black Mountains and the dramatic Brecon Beacons, in arguably the most beautiful valley in the National Park. It is a lively, friendly community with a strong identity, excellent individual shops and many superb restaurants. There are first-class primary and secondary schools, a myriad of businesses and organisations, hotels, bunkhouses and guest houses. Although in the heart of beautiful countryside, travel to and from Crickhowell is easy.

London is 2 hours, Birmingham 1.5 hours, and Cardiff just 40 minutes. The nearest bus and railway station is Abergavenny, (6 miles). The nearest airport is Cardiff International (45 miles)

Local Information
For information about local services and accommodation please get in touch with the local Tourist Information Centres and check out the local web sites.

Crickhowell
Tourist Information Centre
Telephone: 01873 812105
Address:
Beaufort Chambers
Beaufort Street
Crickhowell
Powys
NP8 IAA
Web: www.ukinformationcentre.com/central-wales/crickhowell-tourist-information-centre.htm

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