Battle On The Beach 2016

This weekend over 800 riders will be racing across a beach in Wales. It will be a sight to see most definitely.

Returning for a third year, Battle on the Beach will take  place at midday on Sunday (March 20th) when 800 riders will set off on the challenging 45km route. The unique event takes riders across Cefn Sidan beach and into fantastic riding behind the dunes.

International riders in attendance include the current beach racing World Champion, Bram Imming from The Netherlands who will lead a strong Dutch contingent of racers coming to Wales. The Dutch have dominated previous editions and the event has only had one British winner, 2015 Female Open champion Melanie Alexander from Cardiff who will be aiming to defend her title.

The event has gained popularity by offering a unique format that is open to all styles off off-road bikes from Mountain bikes to cyclocross bikes with a friendly, all-inclusive vibe with races for all ages and abilities. New for 2016 is the Little Bikers Challenge, which starts at 10am on Sunday and aims to set the record for the biggest balance bike race!

Set against the spectacular backdrop of the Gower Peninsula and coastal scenery of Carmarthen Bay, the race will be held at low tide, when the sea will be a mile offshore, meaning the sand will be rock hard and as fast as the fantastic singletrack hidden behind the dunes in the pine forest. There will be plenty for the serious racers but even more than a few surprises for everyone else around the course to keep riders smiling.

With over £7000 worth of prizes up for grabs, including £2000 in cash for the Open categories it is also the biggest prize in off-road cycling.

Fat bikes are NOT obligatory

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Last Year’s event

More details on the official Battle on the Beach website

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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