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I've been watching Syd and Macky and it looks like they have some really cool xc races that don't involve laps or going at it for 24 hours. A lot look to have a similar vibe to fell races over here, with local sponsors for some (à la Pete Bland) and big grand support for the bigger ones.
Do these exist over here and I'm looking in the wrong places? Or is it a land ownership/ROW or historical issue that has prevented the development of this sort of event.
Is there not the desire for this sort of racing with those who want to racing doing enduro, downhill and xco?
Personally, the idea of racing for a couple of hours across the fell in the fog with a couple of technical descents and killer climbs, followed by a beer/coffee sounds ace.
Yes there are the mtb marathon series - the terrain is dictated by the location of the event.
The events do seem to have dwindled less and less over recent years though.
I think a lot of the younger generation are more attracted to uplifts, ebikes and enduro racing nowadays.
Or is it a land ownership/ROW or historical issue that has prevented the development of this sort of event.
almost certainly this. You need a big space to do what you described, which we are rather lacking in.
if you aren’t planning on trying to win the thing, off road sportive might get you the sort of ride you are looking for. Still definitely “competitive” at the sharp end but you won’t be getting a medal or official results.
That was more the style in the early years of UK MTB racing in the 90s afaik. The 3 peaks CX race describes your last paragraph pretty well, although it's more like 4-5 hrs for most people. That is a unique event though.
Access must be a huge part of it - end of the day it is not legal to have trial of speed on a bridleway in England and Wales, and that is the principal ROW for bike riding in the countryside. People organise MTB events sportive style, usually labelled a challenge event, and these can be good. Some strong riders will show up but it's not the same vibe as an actual race. Defo worth doing if it takes you to an area you've not ridden before.
I did a couple of UK enduros last year for the first time in several years, and was taken aback by the numbers. Pushing 1000 riders over the weekend. That's after 10+ years of enduro races in the UK (so over the initial surge of popularity), and with plenty of online grumbling about the format's getting stale, not sure I CBA with Ard Rock again etc. But it's clear the centre of gravity of MTB racing has shifted enormously, just a different level of popularity and engagement to XC stuff.
Three peaks was one that I'd thought closest to what I was thinking of. Might have a look at some sportives. Just want something to aim towards as a training objective.
Would love to have a crack at something like MOAB rocks but just mooching around Swaledale is probably not enough prep.
In Spain and Portugal and the Czech Republic they have loads of decent single day point to point marathon races of around 4-6 hrs, I think they are more fun than lap races. The UK XC scene is pretty poor right now, the interest to me seems more gravel and road sportives and CX which I personally have no interest in.
Yup as above, marathon XC is massively popular here in Spain at the moment. Keep meaning to do this one local to me - https://www.madridsegoviamtb.com/
end of the day it is not legal to have trial of speed on a bridleway in England and Wales, and that is the principal ROW for bike riding in the countryside
It's this. You can't race on a bridleway, but you can't ride on footpaths. This means you need private land to do it, and there's nowhere with enough private land. In the US, you can't ride anywhere except on private land with permission or on publicly owned land of which there are very large contiguous areas in some parts of the country.