Let’s Go Racing! 2022 UK MTB Race Calendar

Events are back, with a full calendar of mountain bike events and venues revealed for 2022. If you want to take things seriously or just find out what you’re capable of, there are options for you here. There’s a new challenge too: a national Marathon Series, for those that like to go long.

Cross-country

Kicking off in April at popular Nottinghamshire venue, Sherwood Pines, the cross-country series will then head north to Newcastleton and Drumlanrig Castle for rounds two and three, and Cannock Chase makes a welcome return to the schedule for round four. The series concludes at Woody’s Bike Park in Fowey, which successfully hosted its debut national series event in 2021. Next year’s event has been awarded UCI C1 classification.

Glentress will host the 2022 national championships, having last hosted a round of the national series in 2019.

In the 2022 series Jane Barr and Ben Wadey will be defending their titles, while Isla Short and Frazer Clacherty will be hoping to hold on to the national champions’ jerseys they collected this summer at Plymouth’s Newnham Park.

National Cross-country Series

• Round 1: 2 – 3 April, Sherwood Pines
• Round 2: 16 – 17 April, Newcastleton
• Round 3: 7 – 8 May, Drumlanrig Castle
• Round 4: 28 – 29 May, Cannock Chase
• Round 5: 25 – 26 June, Woody’s Bike Park (UCI C1)

National Cross-country Championships

• Glentress, Scotland: 23 – 24 July

Will any of the suggestions made here be part of the plan?

Downhill

The National Downhill series is to be delivered by five separate organisers, beginning in Rheola in April. Round two will be a UCI C1 in Fort William, followed by a UCI C2 event in Llangollen for round three. The series ends with rounds in Caersws and at Revolution Bike Park, which hosted the national championships in 2019.

The 2022 national championships will return to Glencoe, which last hosted the showpiece event in 2018, and means that both the downhill and cross-country national championships will be held in Scotland across the same weekend from 23-24 July.

A close-fought 2021 downhill series ended in victories for Roger Novack Vieira and Stacey Fisher, while Matt Walker and Katherine Sharp were victorious in the national championships at Rhyd-y-Felin in July.

National Downhill Series

• Round 1: Rheola, 16 – 17 April (event organiser – Malc Dunn, Gravity Events)
• Round 2: Fort William, 7 – 8 May (UCI C1) (event organiser – Colin Houston, SDA)
• Round 3: Llangollen, 28 – 29 May (UCI C2) (event organiser – Si Paton, BDS Events / Malverns Classic Team)
• Round 4: Caersws, 13 – 14 August (event organiser – Malc Dunn, Gravity Events)
• Round 5: Revolution Bike Park, 17 – 18 September (Mike Marsden, Borderline Events)

National Downhill Championships

• Glencoe, Scotland, 23 – 24 July. Event organiser: Scottish Downhill Association (SDA)

Marathon

2022 will see the first-ever national series for mountain bike marathon. The series will feature one round per month from July through to September, beginning in Pippingford, while the third round in Kielder Forest will double up as the National Marathon Championships. Jacob Scott and Isla Short will return as defending champions.

National Marathon Series

• Round 1: 2 – 3 July, Pippingford
• Round 2: 31 July, Isle of Man
• Round 3: 7 August, Kielder Forest

National Marathon Championships

• Kielder Forest, 7 August

Will you be collecting trophies like our Amanda? Or cheering on from the sidelines?

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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