In 2017, it was announced that the Mountain Mayhem – the longest continuously running 24 hour mountain bike race in the world – wouldn’t just be the 20th edition, it would also be the last edition in its current 24-hour format. For many riders who have raced or ridden in Mayhem over the last 20 years, the news came as a bit of a shock – after all, that’s 20 whole years of mountain biking history we’re talking about here.
During last year’s event, Mountain Mayhem’s co-creators, Pat Adams and Jill Greenfield, had indicated that Mayhem would be coming back in 2018, albeit in a different format. However, according to the Mountain Mayhem Facebook page, it would appear that this is no longer going to happen.
Here’s the message posted by event organisers this afternoon;
“Happy New Year Mayhemers! You will be pleased to hear we have been busy planning our next Mountain Mayhem. Unfortunately our hoped for sponsor we had been negotiating with for some time has not been able to go ahead at the last minute. We are disappointed of course, but instead of being down, the Glastonbury of mountain biking is going to take a leaf out of the Glastonbury Festival book and take a year out. This means we will have more time to speak to potential new sponsors (feel free to contact us if you know any!) and also to plan for 2019. We want you to be a part of this, so over the coming weeks we will be asking for your opinions – it is your Mountain Mayhem after all! Thank you for all your support. Please stick with us, enjoy the rest and look forward to the return of Mayhem 21 in 2019!”
So from all indications, Mountain Mayhem won’t be going away, but will simply be taking a hiatus in 2018, before returning in 2019 in a different format. The event organisers have also asked for feedback from competitors as to what this new format might look like, so stay tuned to their Facebook page for more info in the coming weeks.
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Shame. Let’s see what Pat comes up with, the Gatcombe course had evolved nicely over the years but it appears as if the team may be casting their eyes further afield.
I look forward to the 2019 announcements.
Agreed – Gatcombe evolved into a nice little course over the 5 years; it’s certainly left a big hole in my summer for the first time since 2001. Anything that can draw in the volume of demo bikes that we used to see at Eastnor would be great – a sort of demo weekend alongside some racing.