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Llanwrtyd Wells 4-5th July 2009
 After years of Builth Wells dominating the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series John decided to take the summer event of the series to a new location – Llanwrtyd Wells. Only a short drive from his home town Builth Wells the move open a completely new area and will allow him to give the riders 4 completely new courses in one of the best mountain bike regions of the country. Known all over the world through events like the Man vs. Horse and the Bog Snorkelling Word Championships Llanwrtyd Wells will offer the ideal backdrop for the 2nd new event/location of the 2009 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series.
The event village is situated a few hundred metres from the town offering lots of drinking and eating places - ideal for a quiet shandy before the big ride on Sunday.
The event village/camp ground/start and finish location will be signposted from every direction from Friday afternoon onwards and will stay open for the campers till Monday morning. So if you want to make a long weekend of it – this is your chance.
John Lloyd is once more the man who put endless amount of hours in finding the four new courses and is excited to go to the Llanwrtyd Wells area as it is the area that first inspired him to start mountain bike riding many, many years ago.
This area is also home to the first mountain bike centre in the UK.
This ride consists as always of four distances, and will start by heading into the Irfon Forest and the Cambrian Mountains, then heading west to Llyn Brianne, the Towi Valley and the Doethie Valley, the latter has been described by many as the best natural single track in the country.
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportives
Following the launch of the Gore Bike Wear Road Sportives in 2008 we will have again 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
The Gore Bike Wear Sportive will take place on Saturday of the event weekend. The series has now its own website 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.
 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 Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells.
Start times:
- The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon ride will start at 10am on Sunday the 5th July '09 at the Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells.
- The GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive will start 8am onwards on Saturday the 4th July ’09 at the Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells.
Registration opening times:
Friday from 6 – 9pm
Saturday from 6am - 8pm (Please note: from 6 - 9am on Saturday only road sportive riders can register)
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.
- The entry fee for the approx. 50, 100 or 150mile GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive is £25 per rider.
- Discount: If you enter both event at the same weekend we will give you a £10 discount on your over all entry fee.
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
Your entry fee for the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive includes:
1. Ride entry
2. Free post event food
3. Free usage of service stations
4. Free usage of facilities
5. Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Saturday)
6. Finishing present
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 Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells is the location for the Summer Merida Bikes MTB Marathon event (5th July ‘09) and the GORE BIKEWEAR Road Sportive (4th July ‘09).
Our man in Llanwrtyd Wells 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 the trails around Llanwrtyd Wells where he first started Mountain Biking many years ago. 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.
LLANWRTYD WELLS
The beautiful Llanwrtyd Wells in the Secret Heart of Wales - officially the smallest town in Great Britain – being located at the centre of one of the last remaining wildernesses with the cleanest air in UK has to offer.
With its beautiful clean air and low light pollution, it sits astride the River Irfon and the A483 between Builth Wells and Llandovery. The River Irfon begins in an SSSI (site of Special Scientific Interest) and is an upper tributary of the River Wye to which salmon return to spawn each year. The river flows through the town joining the River Wye at Builth Wells. The most spectacular scenery; forests, mountains, hidden valleys and many conservation sites surround Llanwrtyd, providing a habitat for many rare species of flora and fauna. If you are lucky enough you may also have the privilege of spotting rare red squirrel. With the successful repopulation of the Red Kite following its near extinction in this area, you will be certain to see them soaring wild and free in the skies above the town.
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.
LLANWRTYD WELLS
Telephone: 01591 610666
Email: llanwrtydtouristinformation@yahoo.co.uk
Address:
Ty Barcud
The Square
Llanwrtyd Wells
Powys
LD5 4RB
Web: www.llanwrtyd.com
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