The 4th edition of Battle on the Beach returns on March 25th & 26th 2017 with entries set to open at midnight on January 1st, that’s the second the New Year starts. You can either stay up and enter, before retiring with your cocoa to dream of interval training, or you can drunkenly enter, vowing to do some training this time – it’s up to you. Either way, it’s a great goal to have for this early season event.
The event has sold out every year, with all 800 places selling out in under a day last day. Open to all bikes, from cyclocross and mountain bikes to fat bikes and everything in between, the diversity is what makes the event so unique. And due to the various course sections of hard sand, loose sand, singletrack and tarmac, whichever bike you choose will be
Far from being just a beach race, Battle on the Beach is set against the spectacular backdrop of the Gower Peninsula and held at low tide with the sand as hard and fast as tarmac. (See Guy Martin’s bicycle land speed record, done on the next beach along for proof of that).
The real fun comes after the course heads off the beach and into 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 you on guard and smiling.
There will be at least £1000 cash up for grabs for the victorious, and bundles of swag from the sponsors Halo, Kinesis UK, Lezyne, Schwalbe, Squirt Lube and Surly, with prizes not just for the fastest riders with Surly providing a frameset for whoever matches the “magic lap” time. The event is once again home to the Halo Fat Bike UK Championship, a sub-category open to all bikes with tyres over 3.5”.
Lezyne Battle in the Dark returns for 2017 after it being a huge success last year. Held on Saturday 25th, before the main race it will be a single lap time-trial, held just after sunset. £100 cash for the winners but prizes for every 10th place.
Up to three nights camping is included with the weekend pass with kids races also on the Saturday afternoon. The beautiful park and miles of beach means the family will have something to do when they are not shouting at you. If the kids think watching you race is boring, Pembrey Country Park has the longest toboggan run in Wales, pony trekking, a 130m long dry ski slope, a giant adventure playground and eight Wildlife trails with set routes.
Entries open online at midnight January 1st and are priced at £30 or £40 – Last year the event sold out in under a day, so don’t delay!
Entries are here: https://www.battleonthebeach.co.uk/entry/
