PMBA

Singletrack Weekender - 1 Month To Go

One month to go until the Weekend(er) of the year! 

A weekend of XC, Trials and Downhill racing. Three different races. One bike (yep, each race must be completed on the same bike). The ultimate 'all rounder' event. The weekend of July 14-15 sees the Singletrack magazine Classic Weekender being run for the fourth time. It'll be the second year the event will be sponsored by Shimano who'll be bringing their usual touch of class and prize-giving generosity to this year's Weekender.

What is the Weekender? In a nutshell it's three different mountain bike competitions run over the course of two days, with the final results based a combined score. The three different competitions are called 'XC', 'Trials' and 'Downhill'. The name of the game is see how competitors fare as all-round riders.

Well actually, the name of the game is to have a fun weekend of messing about with a bit of serious-as-you-want racing sprinkled on top. As well as the main events, the Weekender hosts a number of extra just-for-fun mini-events during the Saturday evening. The floodlit pump track challenge is always a popular one. This year there'll be a couple more extra mini-events: elbows-out mass-start hill sprint challenge and a last-rider-standing 'bike derby'.

It sounds clichéd to say it (we're going to say it anyway) but the real winners of the Weekender are those who have the most fun.

The three competitions: There will be three events in the Classic Weekender that will lead riders to an overall position.

Weekender Downhill - Doable on any bike from a hardtail to a monster DH bike. Smooth all-round riding will get you a better time than just being fearless. Once again, the penalties won't be too severe. The main thing to avoid is punctures! The course is around 1km in length and takes about 3 minutes to get down.

Weekender Trials - This event doesn't require much in the way of Trials skills really. There will be five simple, taped off, sections to ride, resembling "normal" mountain bike obstacles. A clean ride between the tapes is a "clear". For every "fail", you will earn a time penalty.

Weekender XC - The Sunday will host the cross country race. The start will be handicapped so that riders with perfect scores from the Saturday will start on time, followed a minute later by riders with a minute's penalty, and so on until the riders with the maximum penalty score bring up the rear. One lap of the XC course is about 5km in length.

This year is the Year Of The Bonus. There'll be time bonuses awarded for successful negotiation of certain OPTIONAL obstacles in the Trials competition and the Downhill competition. You'll be able to earn yourself a couple of minutes head start for Sunday's XC competition.

Where: Lee Quarry, Lancashire.
When: July 14-15, 2012. 

Only £40 for the whole weekend! Entry to all three events. Includes camping too (or you can go home and kip in a proper bed somewhere local if you prefer). Massive bonfire!

Enter online or click-thru from the Weekender site listed above. Join the Shimano Singletrack Classic Weekender page on Facebook Follow @stweekender on Twitter.

Free First Aid for your bike! Shimano and Ride-On will be providing Free First Aid for bikes throughout the Weekender. Free fitting of parts and repairs to non-fatal problems.

Accommodation: Camping is in the main arena. As it stands there's likely to be more than one camping area - one very close to the arena and another one a bit further away (this latter one will probably be the 'quiet' campsite). There will be marshals on hand to guide you away from the areas you can't pitch your tent. Please be aware that this is a quarry. You will be able to drive pegs in a bit but make sure you bring a hammer or mallet. Also bring a decent carry mat or airbed. You don't have to camp! Many people prefer to stay in somewhere with a proper bed and hot and cold running water. Many locals will opt to pop back to their homes on Saturday night, which is fine and dandy. Be warned though, at previous events a great many locals have really not wanted to leave the Saturday evening's festivities and socialising, and they'd wished that they'd brought their camping stuff with them. So if you're local, think about bringing your camping stuff just in case you want to experience the whole Weekender thang.

Some Rules For The Racing: Pedal swapping is allowed. Tyre swapping is not allowed. You can change bikes and bits during practice but not once the racing proper has begun. A helmet is compulsory for all three races. Body armour is advisable for the DH but not compulsory.

Cars, Camping and Catering: There will be secure car parks in operation. Car parking - anything smaller than (or same size as) a Transit will be fine in the car park. Full-on Motorhomes are a no-no. It is free to camp. Food and (non-alcoholic) drink will be available to buy. Drinking water will be available for free