Southland Mountain Bike Club’s annual Winter XC Series returns
The series takes place on the first Sunday of the month, from May to October, offering six rounds of family-friendly fun on the mountain bike trails in Sandy Point.
By Eugene Bonthuys
This weekend sees the return of one of the best-attended cycling events on the local calendar - the Southland Mountain Bike Club’s annual Outdoor H&J Smith Winter XC Series.
The series takes place on the first Sunday of the month, from May to October, offering six rounds of family-friendly fun on the mountain bike trails in Sandy Point.
With a selection of distances and age categories available, if offers a great balance of accessibility for newcomers to the sport and casual riders, all the way to a solid racing challenge for those more experienced racers. There is even a chaperoned kids event for the youngest family members.
There are three different distances on offer, with a one lap recreation category ride, a two-lap sport category ride, or a three-lap expert category ride, with each lap taking approximately 25 minutes to complete depending on fitness.
The opening event of the series last year attracted some 280 riders, and the organisers are confident that this year will prove no less successful. Although the primary aim is participation, there is also an overall series title up for grabs, rewarding consistent participation and performance. Riders amass points throughout the six-event series, with the top five results for each rider counting towards the points total used to determine the series champion in each division.
Age categories range from under 12 to masters 50-plus, and there is even a category for E-bikes in order to be as inclusive as possible.
The family friendly atmosphere of the event and the hard work of the club members to create an environment that fosters the growth of the sport is what keeps event sponsor Outdoor H&J Smith coming back year after year to support the event.
“The mountain bike club is really amazing as to what they achieve. The drive of its members to raise funds and labour to create new tracks and maintain them is terrific,” said Micheal Matheson of H&J Smith.
The ongoing work on trails, not only in Sandy Point, but also in Bluff, creates a resource that will benefit generations of Southland mountain bikers, and plays a significant role in helping to encourage active recreation, Matheson said.
Registration for this Sunday’s event will be available at the start location at the Sandy Point mountain bike trails from 9:30am on Sunday morning, with the first event starting at 10:30am. The entry fee is $5 for Southland MTB Club members, or $10 for non-members.
For more information on the event, visit the Southland Mountain Bike Club’s Facebook page or website.