This Weekend: Merida Marathon and Gore Sportive

Source: www.mtb-marathon.co.uk

With the trails being super dry and the summer being properly here now the conditions out there for road riders and mountain bikers alike are getting better by the minute. Only a couple of days now before the 3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon round and the 1st round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive will kick off at the Show Fields in Llanwrtyd Wells on the 4-5th July 2009.

GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive - 4th July

The opening round of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive Series is starting out with two fantastic courses which course designer and local riding legend John Lloyd has put together. The riders can choose between the 50 mile Standard sportive with approx. 1,600m of climbing or the 'Classic' 90 mile sportive with approx 2,600m of climbing.

Check out the recent recce ride video and photo shoot as well as further course details (including profile and overviews) here 

3rd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series - Llanwrtyd Wells on the 5th July 2009

Preparations are in full flow on the four mountain bike courses on offer on the 5th. As usual there is the Mini Marathon (approx. 25km with 950m of climbing), Half Marathon (approx. 50km with 1900m of climbing), a Middle Marathon (approx. 69km with 2500m of climbing) and the demanding Full Marathon (approx. 76km with 2700m of climbing) course option to choose from.

John has found the perfect combination of fast and swoopy double and single track which run on primarily stony and fast drying tracks. The courses are in superb shape and ride very fast. So don't miss out!!

If you missed out on the first 2 rounds and you are looking for a great mountain bike challenge than wait no longer and send your entry in now. You can find all the details on the Llanwrtyd Wells round including profiles etc on the event page

Can I still get in?

There are still lots of places available for the two Llanwrtyd Wells events (sportive on Saturday and MTB marathon on Sunday) as well as the other remaining rounds of the GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive series and Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series 2009. You can still send your entry forms in but please make sure that they arrive at our registration office no later than Friday. Alternatively you can enter via the online entry up to Friday lunchtime. You can find our entry facilities on the entry page 

If you can't make up your mind then you can also enter on the day. But please be aware that we have a £5 day entry surcharge. So why not enter today - save yourself some money and the hassle! Don't forget that if you interested in entering both events over the weekend that there is a £10 discount to be had.

Where, when, what?

The registration will open at 6pm on Friday and will stay open till around 8pm. The registration will open on Saturday morning at 6am and will stay open till 8pm. It will reopen on Sunday morning at 7am and will stay open till 9am. The GORE BIKEWEAR Road Sportive will start 8am onwards on and will stay open till approx. 9am. The start of the Merida Bikes MTB Spring Marathon is at 10.00am on Sunday morning.

The event is located at the Show Fields which is only a few hundred meters away from the centre of LLanwrtyd Wells which makes going out for a post or pre event drink a doddle as well as finding the new location very straight forward. Simply head into Llanwrtyd Wells and follow the markers. If you need a postcode for your GPS please put in LD5 4RB and follow the markers.

Wimbledon on TV

For all the sports and in particular tennis enthusiasts out there be assured that we will have the tennis on our big TV in the marquee so that you can follow the action from Wimbledon throughout the weekend.

Win one of five ‘50% off' vouchers from Merida

Our title sponsor Merida Bikes will again draw 5 riders just before the start of the ride and ‘reward' them with a ‘50% off any Merida Bike voucher'. The only thing you have to do to be included in the draw is fill in the questionnaire which you can find in your signing on bag and put it the collection box before the registration closes on Sunday morning. Good luck!!