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  2007
  > REVIEW
  2006
  > REVIEW
  > ELBNO - SM
  > RHAYADER
  > BUILTH WELLS
  > BAD GOISERN
  > SELKIRK
  > RUTHIN
  2005
  > REVIEW
  > ELBNO - SM
  > RHAYADER
  > BUILTH WELLS
  > BAD GOISERN
  > SELKIRK
  > RUTHIN
  2004
  > REVIEW
  > RHAYADER
  > BUILTH WELLS
  > BAD GOISERN
  > SELKIRK
  > RUTHIN
  2003
  > REVIEW
  > RHAYADER
  > BUILTH WELLS
  > RUTHIN
  NEWS...
  16.05.08 NEWS before the Ruthin Round HERE>>
  25.04.08
Latest News from the first round.
HERE>>
  17.04.08 Report from the first round HERE>>
  10.04.08
Latest News before the first event of 2008.
HERE>>
  29.03.08 Website updated - New Season is HERE>>
  31.01.08
Online Entry now OPEN.
MORE>>
  28.12.07 Website updated - Entry facilities coming soon.
  19.09.07
7 down, NONE to go….at least not this year. MORE>>
  Foot-And-Mouth - Please clean your gear: MORE>>
  04.09.07
Ruthin News. MORE>>
  Merida on holiday 2008 – win a mountain bike trip in Austria MORE>>
  12.08.07
6 down, ONLY 1 to go. MORE>>
  20.07.07
Selkirk here we come
MORE>>
  12.07.07
4 down, 2 to go (3 including the Austria round) MORE>>
  06.07.07
Latest Builth Wells Summer Marathon update
MORE>>
  27.06.07
Latest News... MORE>>
  16.06.07
MERIDA OUTSIDER UPDATES WITH COURSE PROFILES.
MORE>>
  07.06.07
Latest News... MORE>>
  17.05.07
…2 down 5 to go. After last year’s rather muddy May event in Rhayader the first dip into English marathon territory was another one to remember.
MORE>>
  08.05.07
It is only a few days now before the 1st ever English round MORE>>
  01.05.07
It feels that the season is truly here MORE>>
  17.04.07 ELBNO and SPRING MARATHON MORE>>
  10.04.07 ELBNO / Spring Marathon – LAST UPDATE MORE>>
  23.03.07 ELBNO . MORE>>
  23.03.07 Chain Reaction Cycles voucher - make sure you enter early! MORE>>
  23.03.07 Aviemore round – the Outsider. MORE>>
  23.03.07 Penrith round – Cumbria Bikefest MORE>>
  23.03.07 Salzkammergut Trophy 2007. MORE>>
  13.03.07 The Outsider event and line-up ... MORE>>
  22.02.07 Latest NEWS. MORE>>
  19.12.06 NEWS 2007 Entry form available to download….... MORE>>
  'CycleActive price draw - winner revealed!.... MORE>>
  23.10.06 NEWS The Outsider - New Event….... MORE>>
  The 2006 mountain bike season is heading towards its deserved winter break which inevitably means that the 2007 season is creeping up on us. .... MORE>>
  26.09.06 We have just got back from our 2007 planning excursion to Scotland . .... MORE>>
  14.09.06 NEWS Update: Merida Ruthin…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>
  25.08.06 Well done everybody who took part in the first ever Merida TransWales ’06. What a week! I am sure it will take us all a while to recover from this adventure. .... MORE>>
  09.08.06 NEWS Update:Merida TransWales ’06…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>
  02.08.06 NEWS Four down one to go! We have just returned from the event in Selkirk and we can only agree with the all comments we have had that it has once again been a superb event for everybody.... MORE>>
  26.07.06 NEWS Update:
It’s the last week before the Scottish round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon in Selkirk opens its doors.... MORE>>
  11.07.06 NEWS Update:…was it hot or what? This year seams to be the year of extremes... MORE>>
  22.06.06 NEWS Update:
The last weekend before this year’s summer marathon in Builth Wells is upon us.... MORE>>
  News update 15.06.06
Less than three weeks to go before we will welcome everybody at the ‘summer’ event of the Merida 100 Series... MORE>>
  01.06.06
2nd Round Rhayader Event... MORE>>
  1st Round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon Series 2006 in Builth Wells 8-9th April... MORE>>
  20 Reasons why you... should ride a Mreida 100
1 No faffing with maps: just point and play... MORE>>
  Vertebrate Graphics, MTB Guidebooks...MORE>>
  MTB-Marathon Jersey NOW IN STOCK..MORE>>
 


















  2005
       
  Bad Goisern Event Review

The second Merdia 100 ‘On Holiday’ discovers dazzling alpine scenery and trails at Austria’s best marathon event Bad Goisern (Austria) is a small alpine village only 40 miles from Salzburg set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region. Full to bursting with snow crisp mountains and pristine mountain lakes, the area is prime marathon territory and every July it becomes a true marathon Mecca.

Like Selkirk, Bad Goisern made its Merida 100 debut in 2004 - a truly special affair. Hosting the second ever Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships, it saw Merida’s Gunn-Rita Dahle crowned World Champion – a title that she successfully defended again in 2005 – in a year where she was fated to win every major title going, including Olympic gold; an achievement that would also see her named in MBUK’s definitive list of mountain bike legends.

The marathon event itself – part of the Salzkammergut MTB Trophy with its 24, 53, 101 and epic 203km courses – is recognised as Austria’s best mountain bike marathon event and, although the World Marathon Championship were held in Gunn-Rita’s native Norway, Bad Goisern was also hosting a round of the inaugural Marathon World Cup series. With world-class riders, a stunningly beautiful location and some great trails, the 45 Merida 100 riders who had made the trip from the UK were immersed into the continental European marathon scene at its very best.

The course was similar to the previous year’s World Championship course but the organisers had reshuffled parts and added some fresh sections after conditions had made the long course a seriously tough deal. Incorporating areas within the UNESCO World Heritage region of Hallstatt-Dachstein-Salzkammergut, the course designers had managed to keep things as achingly beautiful as possible – the hugely memorable Ewige Wand (the Eternal Wall) was just one example //IMAGE HERE MIKE// – but yet the 101km World Cup course included 3,617m of vertical, more than double the climbing of any of the other Merida 100 rounds, to be heralded as the toughest course on the world circuit.

“We’re glad to have it as a regular feature of the series,” said Merida 100 co-organiser Mike Wilkens of the the Salzkammergut Trophy, “It offers everybody the chance to experience mountain bike marathon riding, European style. The course shows off the variety of marathon riding, as well as exhibiting what a physically demanding branch of cycling it is,” he continued, “but one that pays back with a huge feeling of achievement when you finish.” The course, setting and atmosphere all conspired to give riders the sense that this was genuinely mountain biking stripped down to its essence.

The start and finish was nestled in the heart of Bad Goisern and, although it was a mountain bike marathon event, it truly had a relaxed festival atmosphere. Or, as Mike more accurately described: “it’s a beer festival with bikes.” The locals all come out in force to line sections of the course and give a massive boost to all the riders – whether they’ve got the number one plate or the one thousandth and one on. It’s a truly special experience and possibly the closest any mountain bike marathon rider is going to get to experience the atmosphere of anything like the Tour de France whilst cranking on the dirt.

To find out more about the Merida 100 trip to the Salzkammergut Trophy log onto www.salzkammergut-trophy.at.
  2005

competition image


Merida Bikes TransWales '08
The 7 day MTB stage challenge.
Check the full story and the results on www.mtbtransuk.co.uk

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