Malverns launch ramp

Malverns. Classic! Is this the new must-do event of the summer?

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What a weekend! With nothing short of the expectations of the British mountain biking world on his shoulders, event organiser, Si Paton pulled of a remarkable success with the first of the new-school GT Cycles Malverns Classic events – and by the look of it, the first of many.

The campsite and arena were impressive when viewed from the hill.
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As we had said in the current issue’s story in the bumper subscriber section, there are so many of people’s fond memories of previous Malverns, conflated into one perfect event, that nothing short of a spectacular event, in perfect weather would ever match the expectations of those who were there for the original decade of events in the 1990s. Add this to the new generation who have no rose coloured glasses and who just want a decent weekend of racing and it’s a hard job to deliver.

However, the weather was good enough and the event was well received enough that it was a resounding success. While there were some barely concealed frayed edges (catering, event schedule, timing, camping and so on) all of those were quickly obvious enough that they are already going to be improved in future years. And there are already plans for next year’s event – June 14-16th 2019, put it in your diaries.

Biff’s rigid Jones Bike wasn’t out of place either.
Hard-charging downhillers rubbed shoulders with retro giffers alike.

The Malverns did a good job of combining some surprisingly thrilling racing, given the apparent lack of terrain and altitude, with an overall ‘chilled’ vibe as mountain bikers of all ages wandered the extensive trade village and watched cross country, enduro, downhill and old-school dual slalom racing.

Good crowds (and weather!) for the podiums.
There were demos and products aplenty

While there was a large contingent of retro bikes (with 69 pristine bikes on display for the WD40 Show ‘n’ Shine), that wasn’t the be-all and end-all. The arena was full of riders of all ages, many of whom who hadn’t been to the previous events and who were just there for a fun weekend of camping and bike riding.

The Jumpin’ Jez Avery stunt show pleased kids and nostalgic old giffers alike.
Jez’s continual, amusing patter was like listening to a stunt-riding Peter Kaye.
Nick Craig raced the ‘normal’ cross country and then returned to race a borrowed machine in the Retro/Legends event.
No one came away from the Herefordshire park complaining that it was flat.
“Can you call me a pizza please?”

 

Skinny racers mixed with retro nutters and first timers. A good mix.

There was a fair amount of after-hours fun too, with hundreds gathering in and around the extensive beer tent, listening to a great cover band and a ’90s DJ playing dance hits of the decade. Those riders who wanted crazy, impromptu things to happen, just like the Malverns of old, weren’t disappointed either. There was jumping to flat, off a folding table, there were skids and wheelies, climbing of marquee poles and a lot of good natured larking around.

 

Impromptu events did happen. This was the last crowd-pleaser before the ramp was put away on Saturday night.

So, a success? Yes, it was. According to the organisers, nearly 4,500 people visited the event over the weekend, more than enough to justify its presence in the calendar next year (and more than enough to get some better caterers in…)

The sponsors loved it, the racers loved it and the ‘just hanging out’ visitors loved it too. The Malverns is back.

Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 22 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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