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NEWS... |
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02.07.09 - Llanwrtyd Wells on the 4-5th July 2009 HERE>> |
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18.06.09 - LLanwrtyd Wells Event News: HERE>> |
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20.05.09 - Crickhowell Marathon report HERE>> |
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15.05.09 - Crickhowell Event News: HERE>> |
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30.04.09 - Only two more weeks before series heads to Crickhowell HERE>> |
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16.04.09 - Builth Wells Spring Marathon report: HERE>> |
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08.04.09 - Last update for the East Weekend Marathon HERE>> |
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06.04.09 - Just 1 week to go before the first event HERE>> |
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16.03.09 - 1st event less than 5 weeks away HERE>> |
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16.03.09 - 2009 MTB-Marathon guidebook out now - want a copy? HERE>> |
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16.03.09 - Huge investment in facilities for 2009 and beyond. HERE>> |
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29.01.09 - 2009 Events and Locations confirmed - ENTRY NOW OPEN HERE>> |
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2005 |
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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. |
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