Got a sporty eMTB motor throbbing away between your legs? Want to show us all your top 0-25kmh time? Then put your money where your mouth is and enter the Bosch eMTB challenge at Transcend Festival, Innerleithen.
Full details below.
Already seen what you want to see? Enter Bosch eMTB Challenge supported by Trek here.
Press Release follows;
“The Bosch eMTB Challenge supported by Trek
Location: Transcend Festival, Innerleithen, Tweed Valley, Scottish Borders
Date: 09/06/2019
Europe’s most exciting e-bike adventure, the Bosch eMTB Challenge supported by Trek, comes to the UK for the first time and it’s coming to Transcend Bike Festival!
Top trail riding and uphill flow climbing stages combine with enduro style on a big e-xploration of the Tweed Valley trails. Along the way you’ll navigate your way through local landmarks, classic trails and a specially prepared lunch stop.
E-bike adventure has arrived in the Tweed Valley – big style.
You’ll cover around 30 kilometres, and have around 1,000 metres of climbing to contend with. The course, a mix of uphill and downhill timed (enduro style) stages with orienteering transfer liaisons in between. It’s a real voyage of discovery – uphill racing, riding techniques, orientation skills, fitness and smart battery management* are key to your success. The enemy? Time itself.
On the individual stages you’re against the clock, without any prior practice (it’s all ‘blind’ racing), and during the transfer stages emphasis is on finding your way around the route. You’ll need to check-in at various orientation points along the route, using the map we provide. Miss one and you’ll earn a 10-second time penalty. Don’t rack up too many because the winner is the fastest overall time on the day. Look out for the Schwalbe Eddy Current climbing stage, a techy climb that will have you working hard even on the e-bike. The climbing stages will also feature a “no feet” zone, keep those feet up and don’t dab and you’ll avoid a 10 second penalty.
The trails are designed for all levels of experience, whether you are a high-end professional or an e-bike newbie. Just choose from the three different categories; Advanced, Amateur and Explorer. The Explorer category doesn’t even have to do the race stages – you can just enjoy the journey round the valley.
And once you’ve navigated your way back to base at Transcend Festival you can enjoy a cold beer and soak up the festival vibes all evening long.
*you should comfortably be able to complete the course with 1 fully charged battery – used wisely!
The Bosch eMTB Challenge
What you get
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- Access all weekend to Transcend Bike Festival
- Onsite parking at Transcend Bike Festival all weekend
- Electronic Air timing by SI systems
- Instant results
- Goody bag
- Great feed stations
- A lunch to fuel the second half of your ride
- Water stations
- Medic support
- Safety marshals
- On site tech support
- Number board
- Course map
- Event programme
How it works
The course will be around 30 kilometres with around 1,000 metres of ascent. There are a mixture of downhill, uphill and transfer stages which will make up the 30-kilometre course.
Downhill stages – The downhill stages may feature some technical features with bumps, rocks, roots and small (roll-able) steps. In places, hard or easy route alternative s can be selected depending on experience and performance level.
Uphill stages – As well as fitness and motor performance, the uphill stages mainly test eBike riding skills. Obstacles and small steps challenge the riders just as much as tight corners. A ‘No Feet Zone’ must be completed without touching the ground, otherwise a time penalty is applied. Riders can choose between a difficult route and an easy route on several sections of the trail.
Transfer stages – There is no time measurement in the transfer stages, but the riders’ co-ordination skills are tested as these stages are completed according to a map. Riders have to find various check-points close to the track. For every missing point, a time penalty of 10 seconds will be added to the time recorded on the Uphill and Downhill stages.
In order to offer all riders the best possible flow experience, the trails are designed for various levels of difficulty: While beginners will have the opportunity to adapt slowly to challenging trails and fast bends, advanced bikers can prove themselves on shorter, but technically challenging track sections.
Participants are not allowed to check out the stages in advance, but instead start the challenge ‘blind’ – so that anticipatory riding and spontaneous reaction to the trails is vital. Times are only recorded on the race stages and the individual sections are added together to get a total time at the end. The transfer stages between the stages are completed according to a map and without timing, so that the teams can enjoy the ride together and prepare for the next stage. Expect five or six timed stages, with the winner the overall fastest time on the day.
Race Categories and Rider Groups
Depending on how you want to enjoy your race day, you can choose what category to ride in…
ADVANCED
For the ambitious and professional – compete with the best! You’ll complete the full course including the ‘Advanced-only’ race stage.
AMATEUR
You’ll travel the same distance as the Advanced category, but with less power pressure. You’ll complete everything except the ‘Advanced-only’ stage.
EXPLORER
Perfect for the eMTB newcomer. As an explorer you take part in the eMTB Challenge without a time trial and can ride around the more demanding parts of the course but you do have some additional orientation points to contest with. Perfect for families, partners or groups who want to enjoy the unique racing atmosphere of the eMTB Challenge, but without the race pressure.
Points to note
- The e-mountain bike must be provided by the participant
- Approved bikes are standard mountain bike pedelecs with a maximum engine assistance of 25km/h
- S-pedelecs, tuned pedelecs and also bikes with no e-support are not allowed
- Helmets are mandatory”
More details here.