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April
2005 The
Event
As Epic's first open event we have decided to abandon the traditional
racing format. Instead we have designed an event that we hope will be a
challenge to bikers of any level. It's a point-to-point grouped start event.
Open to any and all manner of mountain bikers, from the seasoned campaigner to
the first time racer. The event will take place on the 12th - June - 2005 in Ballinastoe
woods Co. Wicklow.
 The
Format
The event will be run in heats, the size
of heats will depend on entries but be between 10 and 20 riders at a time.
The top two riders form each heat will go to the fast lad final, the third and
forth riders will go to the not quite as fast lads final, the fifth and six will
go to the slightly slower than fast final, and so on, every one will get a minimum
of two competitive runs. The winner of every round of finals is in line
for a prize, glory, notoriety, the attention of beautiful women, etc, etc.
When it's all over and done with we will have a seeded championship run, just
for the crack. That means every one will have three runs at a minimum.
The course
What will the course be like?
Well, this event is open to all manner of mountain biker, cross-country, downhill,
and the huge majority in the middle. The course will be designed in a fashion
that will give equal advantage to both XC and DH. You will be pointing downward
for the most part, with some flat, or slightly up hill
sections. It will be as long as we can make it while still keeping it fair
for both types of bikers. There won't be anything that xc riders can't get through, but still enough options to keep
downhillers interested. There will be plenty of room for overtaking, undertaking,
etc. We don't know who will be faster, but we can't wait to find out.
Who is this for?
The reality is that a quarter of the people who
read this will be thinking, “this is for downhillers, I m in to xc
so I am not doing that . The other quarter are thinking,
this is xc, I m a downhiller, I am not doing that . The remaining half
are thinking, “sounds good but I don t race . Well we want
everyone, we are going to a lot of trouble to make this as inclusive as possible,
the course, the format, the whole lot is designed to give you, who ever you are,
a good days mountain biking. So bloody well turn up. There will be
prizes for the highest placed riders in the various age categories, but all will
be thrown into the heats together. There will also be some spot prizes, for riders
we deem worthy.
| What
bike should I bring?
It doesn't matter. There are lines only long
travel bike will manage, there are pedaly bits that xc
hard tails will fly through, we would imagine machines that are somewhere in the
middle would be best, but we don't know. We think it will come down to the rider
more than the bike. There will be pads only lines, that is there will be
sections where some lines will be too rough for xc bikes,
they will be marshalled and the only people let take them will be lads on long
travel rigs with all the appropriate gear.
One the day....
Firstly, turn up early, the first heat start at 12:00 sharp. No uplifts I'm afraid,
so you will have to get up the mountain under your own power. We don't really
believe in the excessive practice thing, the course will be marked early, but
not too early. We will make sure the tricky bits are identified, and definitely
recommend practicing the downhiller only sections, if you are riding them. We
will walk up the course for the start of the first heats, pointing out any bits
of interest as we go. The walk to the top will leave, the car park
at 11:00 sharp, picking up anyone practising on the course as we go. The
course won't be open, or even market on the Saturday. Day licenses will
be available on the day. |
For
More details check out the EPIC
Forum and www.EPICMTB.com 
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