Tickets go live this Friday (3rd Dec) at 7am. The event takes place the last weekend of July.

ooh…ta!

DrP

What’s the difference between the enduro, the sport and the epic?

Not a lot in that they all use the same course.

Epic also gives you a total start > finish time and presumably offers a prize for that but also (looking at last year results) has a winner for the seven timed stages.

Enduro has faster racers and times and you get to have a fun Saturday night without the threat of racing with a hangover. Fewer tickets because lots are given to sponsors and racers. Possibly a bit edgier in terms of passing / being passed but I’ve never done it.

Sport is a doss event – sure it has racing etiquette but everyone knows everyone else is a muppet. The course might be slightly adjusted from Friday to compensate for the lower skill level or abundance of crashes on Saturday (a couple of enforced chicken lines in 2018) but you wouldn’t know it.

Thanks, that really helps. Looks like the Epic is the one to go for.

Epic also a lot smaller field (200 racers vs 850 on Sat and 800 on Sun looking at last year’s results) so whether that’s because it’s simply not as popular or they don’t have capacity I’m not sure, but I’ve no idea how quickly the tickets sell out vs Enduro (gone in a blink) and Sport (gone in a burp).

Sport is a doss event – sure it has racing etiquette but everyone knows everyone else is a muppet

I’d say you got lucky if that’s your experience of the Sunday.
From my own experience I’d say 75% of the field on Sunday are people who couldn’t get Saturday tickets rather than less able (or inclined). Of that 75%, half seem to think they could have troubled Saturday’s podium if only you’d get out of their way…

I’ve only done the Sport twice but on both occasions (18 and 21) I had no bother with a mixture of passing and being passed. In both cases though I started in the last quarter of the field (but finished ~250 out of 800).

tbh after last year on the sprint the bottom of 2 was borderline unridable (for me, loads made it). To the point i (and several others) waited for about 10 mins off the line to get down.

at no point did anyone give us anything other than encouragement.

One of the best things however was spectating on the sunday a few years ago. I saw a guy (with tear offs on his goggles) take his rear mech out on heckles corner. He proceeded to throw a tantrum about how he wasnt going to win it now while his poor wife was telling him everything was going to be ok. That was worth the entry fee alone.

Last year we were asked not to take spectators. Loads did and off the back of that i know a lot of people who are just intending on camping this year without actually entering the race. I may do the same tbh.

I entered sport one year, can’t recall when, but it was only 3 of the 5 stages (at the time) which wasn’t great. If the sport includes all stages then I’d happily ride it again, as the most important thing for me every year I’ve rode there is just how much I love the trails there, it’s just brilliant.

Mid table obscurity in either race means not a jot to me!.

Last year we were asked not to take spectators. Loads did and off the back of that i know a lot of people who are just intending on camping this year without actually entering the race. I may do the same tbh.

I don’t get this logic?.

I think its that we thought you had to be racing to camp. You dont you can just go and enjoy the festival bit and get drunk.

Ah, get ye.

Tbh I can’t think of anything worse, camping in a wet field and watching others riding awesome trails! 🙂

Epic also a lot smaller field (200 racers vs 850 on Sat and 800 on Sun looking at last year’s results) so whether that’s because it’s simply not as popular or they don’t have capacity I’m not sure

I wouldn’t read too much into the number of entries. The Epic in 2020 (subsequently postponed to 2021) was supposed to be more of a “Mountain Marathon” type event on a completely separate course when we entered at the back end of 2019. With everything that’s been going on in the world, the organisers seem to have decided that sorting out a separate course was too big an undertaking and offered Epic entrants the choice of either a refund or ride the full Enduro course on Friday. Most of the Epic entrants I know took the refund option as they didn’t like the format/wasn’t the event they entered.

Yeah I thought the Epic had evolved from some sort of separate XC race. So now it’s the same as Sport / Enduro with a time and prizes for the complete lap. Infinitely easier to plan and execute with just S6/7 and S1/2 practice bookending it.

yea there were a lot of unhappy folk on the epic last year.

well this is annoying…i clicked the link in teh email ages ago..and was in a countdown (I assume near the front of the queue..)..the page refreshed, and then i lost my place!!

grrrr

No chance now I guess

DrP

@drP just tried the Instagram link out of interest and it took me straight to the select your ticket page. Hope you got in!

No cat for the 13 year old…. so no… not in.

enduro sold out..can’t be a$$ed with the other events, so gonna make a cracking weekend itenary for the ladsladslads up in the lakes somewhere…

DrP

logged on at 658, got in a queue, onto the booking page at quarter past. Enduro sold out.

Logged on at 6:55 Enduro sold out when my time came up, would have been on earlier if I’d know there was a queue system based on when you log on.

The queue system seems a tad unfair, we managed to get tickets for the main race thanks to a mate who had been queuing since 6:50, but I opened the page about 6:57 and it was sold out when I made it to the queue about 7:10.

Same here. Sat in a queue for 15 minutes and the Enduro is sold out. Guess I’ve saved myself a few quid.

The queue system is pretty good, stops the server crashing I guess. I logged on at 6.35 and got a countdown page. It refreshed itself at around 7.00 and told me I was no.227 in the queue. Got access to tix at 7.03 ish.

ooh..stay on ticket page and keep refreshing…I just got 2 for enduro!!

DrP

That’s right they do come back as incomplete checkouts expire, picked up a couple.

Yeah Enduro 1’s and 2’s still popping up

Sport not sold out yet neither – it normally is by about five past sale time.

So arguably a better and more stable purchasing experience??

I’m in for the Sport (first timer). Yikes. I suppose I’d better get fit and try riding some rough terrain…🤣

I’m in for the enduro! Camping for the whole weekend…

im in for the Enduro with two mates.

Buzzin! (as the youths would say).

I went straight for the sport. Be 5th time for me. More than happy with that. Just enjoy the chance to ride the course. It’s unlike any other riding I get to do.

Hmm, forgot about this and went on the website thinking (hoping?) they would already be sold out but I am now signed up for the sport…

wow quite the change, previous years they’ve all sold out by 7:01am.

in for the sport.

Should be urm, interesting.

Much better system this year. Logged in at 7, 564th in queue, but still managed to get 2 Sport tickets!
Missed the Boltby tickets last week so happy to get these

well they ‘sell out’, as 6 riders all basket 36 tickets between them… then release 30 of them…
repeat
repeat

hence worth retrying every few min..

DrP

Can I be the first to ask that if anyone needs to drop out of the main event, I have two mates looking for tickets.

well they ‘sell out’, as 6 riders all basket 36 tickets between them… then release 30 of them…
repeat
repeat

Certainly how it used to be, but seems now like Mate #1 is done and dusted by the time Mate #3 is even out of the queue so not quite the same dynamic as previously. As for Sunday Sport tickets still being readily available 3 hours after sale time, what’s that all about? I know last year most of the tickets were unavailable because of 2019 and 2020 rollovers, but in 2018 they were all gone in about 5 minutes bar (as you say) held tickets popping back out, but definitely all sold after about an hour. Assuming the same number of tickets available, too expensive??

We’re in. I entered the Sport as I wanted to race on the Sunday as my other half is as well & she’s not the most accomplished racer – means I can be in her vicinity at least.

Never done it before, so no idea how/when practice is, guess on the Friday for both of us.

I’m guessing it will be littered with wobblers though. Hopefully I can at least get out in the first wave 😆

No practice for Sport, it’s done blind, you could also enter Sprint and see at least 3 of the stages before.