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Mountain Mayhem is a 24-hour
mountain bike race Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned ...
held in the UK. It has been held annually since 1998 and usually occurs on the weekend nearest to midsummer. In 2013 the event moved to
Gatcombe Park Gatcombe Park is the country residence of Anne, Princess Royal, between the villages of Minchinhampton (to which it belongs) and Avening in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century to the designs of George Basevi, it is a ...
in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
, and in 2019 the event was held at Marston Lodge in rural Northamptonshire.


History


Levels of competition

The race has always had categories for teams in men/women/mixed. A solo category was introduced in 2000, with eight invited solo racers in 2000 and increasing numbers of solo entries each following year. The latest race, had nearly 900 racers on the course. :* Individual Male :* Individual Female :* Mixed Expert :* Mixed :* Open Men :* Open Women :* Sport Men :* Sport Women :* Tens and the following subcategories: :* Guests :* Services :* Singlespeed :* University :* Veteran


Venues

The first Mountain Mayhem took place in 1998 at
Trentham Gardens The Trentham Estate, in the village of Trentham, is a visitor attraction located on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. History The estate was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. At th ...
,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
. In 1999 the race moved to Sandwell Park Farm in the
Sandwell Valley Country Park Sandwell Valley Country Park is a country park, run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, in Sandwell Valley, on the River Tame in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich in West Midlands, England. Location ...
,
West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
. In 2004 the race moved to the Deer Park of
Eastnor Castle Eastnor Castle, Eastnor, Herefordshire, is a 19th-century mock castle. Eastnor was built for John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers, who employed Robert Smirke, later the main architect of the British Museum. The castle was built between 1811 and 1820. Ma ...
in
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
where the course used a nine-mile loop. In 2009 the race saw an estimated crowd of 15,000 spectators. For 2013 it moved to a new location less than 40 miles from Eastnor on private land which has never been used for cycling before,
Gatcombe Park Gatcombe Park is the country residence of Anne, Princess Royal, between the villages of Minchinhampton (to which it belongs) and Avening in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century to the designs of George Basevi, it is a ...
in Gloucestershire. In 2019 the race moved to a private location in the center of the country with a new course with much climbing and great singletrack.


Sponsors

Between 1998 and 2002 it was sponsored by
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
. Between 2003 and 2006 it was sponsored by
Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...
and Salomon. For 2007 it was sponsored by
Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
and
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...
. For 2008 it was sponsored by
Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
. Between 2009 and 2011 it was sponsored by Original Source, a PZ Cussons brand.Marketing Week article
/ref> Between 2012 and 2014 it was sponsored by Wiggle (an online cycle shop based in the UK). In 2015 it was sponsored by Go Outdoors (a camping and outdoor sports chain). In 2019 the race was sponsored by Cycle Surgery, Osprey packs, WD40, Fibrax, Cuda Bikes, Continental and Niterider lights


Weather

The race has recently had a reputation for wet weather (sharing similar weather to the
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
which it often coincides with). From the first event in 1998 the race suffered from very heavy rain and the course became very wet and slippery. Many of the subsequent years were also wet although most of them didn't experience rain on both days of the event. The run up to the 2003 event was characterized by very dry conditions and the race was held in record temperatures leading to fears about dehydration for riders and warnings to teams to ensure riders drank enough water. The move in 2004 to the Malverns (and its heavy clay soil) was accompanied by heavy rain throughout the race with many riders abandoning the race due to the adverse conditions and leaving many riders questioning the choice of the new venue. Questions over the venue remained at the start of the following years race, which started in heavy rain with fears of a repeated "mudfest", however despite heavy rain at the start of the race continuing into the evening the rain cleared overnight to provide a dry and sunny end to the race. 2006 provided a break for rain- and mud-weary riders with dry and hot conditions throughout the weekend. The Eastnor Castle course, which in the previous years rain had clogged bikes and caused wheels to slide and slip, was suddenly fast and dusty providing very competitive and enjoyable racing conditions. Both 2007 and 2008 however saw a return to the rain and heavy mud with the 2008 summer being the "wettest summer on record" provided particularly atrocious conditions in heavy downpours of rain. For 2009 the weather was wet on Friday, but dried up for the start of the race on Saturday. In 2010 the weather was dry and sunny for the whole event. Dust and sunburn were the main risks to the riders. In 2011 the race started in damp conditions but as the event unfolded the conditions improved giving perfect conditions for mountain bike racing. In the run up to the 2012 event, southern England suffered from exceptionally heavy rain fall that saturated the ground. From Friday onwards the whole event was plagued by torrential downpours and strong winds. Consequently, most of the track, the main arena and the campsite deteriorated into the notorious "mudfest". Given the conditions, the organizers declared that each team member only needed to complete a minimum of one lap to qualify for a placing (normally a minimum of two laps are required) and that teams retiring early (i.e. before the full 24 hours had elapsed) would be placed according to the number of laps.


Participation

This race is open to all who wish to ride to in it, subject to available space. The 2009 race saw an estimated 2,500 riders. According to Pat Adams, the former organizer of the event, Competitors may enter individually or in teams of four, five, or ten. Commenting on the race, organiser Jill Greenfield said, "We couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction to our 21st edition. Marston Lodge provided the perfect backdrop and the beautiful weather topped off a great comeback weekend. We can also confirm the date of our 22nd edition as 19, 20 and 21 June 2020 again at Marston Lodge. Details for entries will be released as soon as possible."


See also

*
Mountain bike racing Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned ...
*
24 hour mountain bike races 24 Hour mountain bike races are a form of endurance mountain bike racing where solo competitors or teams race for a period of 24 hours. The 24 Hours of Canaan (July 13–14, 1992) was one of the first sanctioned 24 hour mountain bike events. At the ...
*
Sleepless in the Saddle '' Sleepless in the Saddle '' (SITS) was a series of 24-hour mountain bike races held in the UK, Australia and the USA. The format of the race allowed entries to either be from solo riders, or by teams of varying sizes who rode in relay. It was a ...
* 24 Hours of Adrenalin


External links

*


2019 Results




2019 Movie




Results


2003 Results2004 Results2005 Results2006 Results2009 Results


References

{{coord, 52.038, N, 2.378, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Mountain biking events in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 1998 1998 establishments in England