MTB Scotland

Back British Mountain Biking and Vote for Steve Peat

Voting has opened for the 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

The 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award may have prompted critical opinions that British sporting success stories have been a bit thin on the ground this year. This is definitely not the case in mountain biking where Britain's Tracy Moseley and Steve Peat took the overall UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup Champion titles. In Steve's case, it's the third time he's won this impressive title (02,04 & 06).

With the biggest event in mountain biking, the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, coming to the UK for the first time next September, it's time for the UK's most successful rider to get some much-deserved recognition.

The organisers of the World Championships in Fort William in 2007 are trying to rally the huge mountain biking community to vote for Steve Peat and put a real sporting success story in front of the Great British public.

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NoFuss make first Relentless24 a great success

They say the sun always shines on the righteous. Well the NoFuss team must be a saintly bunch, because this weekend's first ever Relentless24 event at Leanachan outside Fort William was treated to some unseasonally fantastic weather.

Congratulations to Fraser and his colleagues for organising a great race, to main sponsors Relentless for the constant supply of energy drinks, and of course to all 266 competitors whose endurance, determination and sense of humour made it a very memorable 24 hours.

Category winners were as follows:

Solos...
Male Senior: Philip Kelman (22 laps in 23:40:51)
Female Senior: Shelley Farrar (17 laps in 22:12:27)
Male Vet: John Thomson (11 laps in 24:54:11)

Pairs...
Male Senior: NRC Cycles - Singlespeed (29 laps in 23:33:12)
Mixed Senior: Team His 'n' Hers (25 laps in 23:57:04)

Trios...
Male Senior: Pro Bike Sport (28 laps in 23:59:24)
Mixed Senior: Wheeze Coff Sniffle (22 laps in 23:51:00)
Male Vet: Walkers Walkers (25 laps in 23:44:19)

Fours...
Male Senior: Glencroft Rabble (35 laps in 24:33:03)
Female Senior: 4am Girls (24 laps in 24:36:33)
Mixed Senior: Nevis Cycles (32 laps in 24:45:21)
Male Vet: How LowePro can you last? (30 laps in 24:38:26)

A full list of results will be appearing on the Relentless24 web site in the next few days.

Photos from the event are available to members in the Mountain Bike Photos gallery section.

The "Tuffer Puffer" has everything except the moon!

Dates have just been announced for what may well be next year's hardest 24 hour race. The StrathPuffer24 is set for 13-14th January 2007 in Contin Forest. Last year's was a sell out and entries are now open, so budding competitors had better be quick off the mark to avoid disappointment. The StrathPuffer team have secured £30,000 in funding to build some cool new single-track that will take the race through some challenging and pretty terrain and avoid the worst of the mud. But it won't be easy. There will be no moon to guide the riders - skill and endurance will be at a premium.

The event organisers said, "We're also improving the facilities at the event centre and should cope with whatever the Scottish winter can send us. Otherwise, don't fix what ain't broken - there will be the same mix of hard climbs, sweet descents and good vibes."

For further details, including an entry form, visit the official event web site at www.strathpuffer.co.uk

Inaugural Glasgow International Bike Film Festival

Following hot upon the sell out success of the Scottish Premiere of Roam at the Glasgow Film Theatre in May of this year, the inaugural Glasgow International Bike Film Festival programme has now been confirmed.

Running from the 4th to the 12th of October at the Glasgow Film Theatre in Glasgow, the Festival will feature a European Cinema Premiere, two UK Premieres and a unique opportunity to meet top trials rider Ryan Leech. The Festival aims to cater to all tastes and act as a showcase for some of the worlds most talented riders and film makers.

The programme will include....

Win Two Free Tickets to the Cycle Show

We've got two free tickets to give away to this year's Cycle Show at ExCeL in London, which is taking place from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th October.

If you're a member of MTB Scotland and would like the chance to win both tickets, you'll find further details in the General Forum.

Many thanks to the nice people at Upper Street Events for sending us the tickets.

Buff announced as latest MTB Scotland sponsor

Buff - the original multifunctional headwear - has today (22nd August 2006) been announced as the latest lifetime sponsor of MTB Scotland.

The Buff is a uniquely versatile garment that achieves a high level of comfort and protection from the elements. It can be worn as a bandana, sun-guard, thermal scarf, beanie, foulard, balaclava, headband, scrunchie, wristband, helmet-liner, muffler or dust screen and the list goes on.

Buff joins the ranks of Endura and Revolution, who have both been sponsoring the site since before its launch earlier this year.

Commenting on the development, MTB Scotland's Editor Iain Harper said, "We're really pleased that Buff have decided to support MTB Scotland. The Buff is a great product that everyone knows and loves, and having another brand like this on board can only add to our growing credibility as a leading online destination for mountain bikers interested in riding in Scotland. It is only through the support of our sponsors that MTB Scotland is able to remain an advertising-free zone."

Members of the site, who are automatically eligible to win in the monthly prize draw, will now also have the regular chance to get their hands on a free Buff.

The new relationship with Buff means that MTB Scotland now has only one lifetime sponsorship opportunity still available for a suitable brand.

Summer Prize Draw

Congratulations to Horse1874 (as he's known in the forums) and Gary Fairley who've won the latest prize draw. Horse gets an Endura Cirrus Shirt and Gary will receive a Tune Up Tool Kit courtesy of Revolution.

There was a gap in prize draws over the summer due to a combination of holidays and other lame excuses, but the normal monthly draw will resume at the end of August. This month there's another Tool Kit from Revolution up for grabs, along with an Endura Zytech T-Shirt.

Seven teams complete 7/24 Challenge

Twenty-seven cyclists in seven teams competed in this year's Stewartry Wheelers 7/24 Challenge, starting from Glentrool in Wigtownshire on Saturday at 11am and finishing in Glentress, Peebleshire. The event takes the teams across 400 kilometers and all seven 7stanes centres. All seven teams successfully met the challenge, completing the course inside 24 hours. The teams taking part were: Stewartry Wheelers Robertson Gemini Upstart Solutions Galloway Mountain Rescue Team 1 Galloway Mountain Rescue Team 2 Insomniacs Males on Wheels Despite two injuries - Liam Warner (Stewartry Wheelers) fell on the Kirroughtree black route and was forced to retire, and David Tyson (Galloway Mountain Rescue Team 1) was knocked off his bike by a dog on the Kirroughtree to Dalbeattie stage and suffered a broken arm - the event was an outstanding success. Event organiser Simon Brooke said "this is not a race. The teams are each setting out to meet a challenge: to complete the course inside the deadline. I'm delighted that everybody succeeded - everybody won - that a new course record of 17 hours 44 minutes was set, and that four teams beat last year's record time of 21 hours 5 minutes. It's a real achievement for everyone who took part." Stewartry Wheelers are grateful for the support of Upstart Solutions, Castle Douglas Cycle Centre, and Scaffie Ltd, without which the event would not have been possible. We're also extremely grateful to the volunteers who manned the control checkpoints.

New Bike Recycling Project to Open on 10th June

The new Fallin Bike Recycling Project is being launched on Saturday 10th June.

If you would like to have a look at their new workshop, hear all about the project, and maybe drop off any unwanted bikes you might have to donate, you're invited to head along between 12pm and 2pm. There will be some bikes for sale on the day too.

The Bike Recycling Project is located at just outside Stirling at Unit 3, Polmaise Park, Stirling Road, Fallin (Polmaise Park is on the right hand side, opposite Precision Engineering).

World Cup Update: Downhill Results - Tracy Moseley Reigns Supreme

The sun finally came out this afternoon (28th May) to a grateful crowd massed around the finish area and the entire length of the Aonach Mor course for the final of the Downhill event.

In the women's race, Tracy Moseley destroyed the competition with a winning time of 5:12.05, some 7.58 secs ahead of Rachel Atherton. Sabrina Jonnier of France came third, with Helen Gaskell 4th.

Then to draw the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup to a close, Australian Sam Hill clinched victory from Frenchman Cedric Gracia by 1.26 secs, finishing in a time of 4:25.33. Greg Minnaar from South Africa came third, followed by British trio Steve Peat (4th), Gee Atherton (5th), and Marc Beaumont (6th).

All in all, its been a fantastic weekend of racing. Roll on 2007!