GB Team News
2018 will be an exciting year for those competing at mountain bike orienteering internationally. There is a fantastic range of events on offer for Elite, Juniors and the Masters Classes. If last year was anything to go by, this year promises to be an exciting one.
Britain’s top rider, Emily Benham won the 2017 World Cup overall series. She was also the most successful athlete at the 2017 World Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania. Winning Gold in the Mass Start, Gold In the Long Distance, Silver in the Sprint Distance and Bronze in the Middle Distance. Britain’s other elite woman rider, Clare Dallimore produced some excellent results despite also working long hours as a Junior Doctor. She ended the year ranked 23rd in the world and produced 2 top 20 results at the World Championship, 15th and 19th. Whilst this year we did not have a 3rd Women Elite rider, perhaps in 2018 we will once more be able to enter a relay team to be fighting for a podium place.
The 2018 season starts for the Elite at the end of June in Budapest with the first World Cup races.
The 2nd round is at the World Championships to be held in Zwettl, Austria (5 – 13th August).
http://www.wmtboc2018.at/wmtboc2018/
The 3rd round will be held in Portugal 20 – 23rd September.
The year kicks off for many in Denmark at the popular MTBO Training Camp at Hillerød north of Copenhagen (9 to 13th May).
This provides some competitive racing each morning along with the opportunity to train on some adjacent terrain each afternoon. It offers the first race on the Wednesday evening after you arrive and concludes with a mass start ultra long event on the Sunday with time to pack you bike away and get to the airport that evening. This camp has a simple range of classes suitable for Juniors to Masters. There is normally a good gathering of GB riders starting their season in Denmark. It is a great event with a very inclusive atmosphere and is a fun way to start the year.
Masters competitions
There is an informal MTBO World Cup for Masters:
Each race awards 35 points for the winner, 33 points for second and 30 points for 3rd place, then down in one point increments to 30th place. The best 7 out of the 12 races below count and aggregate points for the series finale to be held at the O-Ringen
More details and links to these races can be found at a web site managed by Ursula Häusermann (Switzerland)
http://www.mtbo-sui.com/events.html
Youth and Junior Competition.
There is a new initiative for Juniors and Youths this year with an inaugural informal MTBO league of races for the “Young Guns”, led again by the venerable Keith Dawson (GB) and the MTBO Commision. More details on this link
http://www.mtbo-commission.com/events-for-young-people.html
At the Elite and Junior level, the GB team comprises athletes who have been selected by BMBO. At the Master level the racing is open to all and this group has an ever increasing number joining its ranks; everyone is welcome. Unfortunately Junior, Elite and Masters have to be self funding but the costs are generally kept to a minimum and the experience more than pays for itself. The atmosphere in the team is always friendly and supportive. With potentially new GB kit being designed this year, we look forward to perhaps more riders joining us.
For more information contact selectors@bmbo.org.uk
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