Mountain Mayhem

Mountain Mayhem

Race details
Date	late-June
Region	UK
Discipline	mountain
Type	24 hour
History
First edition	1998 (1998)
Editions	12
Most recent	Matthew Page, Meggie Bichard

Coordinates: 52°02′17″N 2°22′41″W / 52.038°N 2.378°W / 52.038; -2.378 Mountain Mayhem is a 24 hour mountain bike race held in the UK. It has been held annually since 1998 and usually occurs on the weekend nearest to midsummer.

The 2011 event will be held at Eastnor Castle's Deer Park, Herefordshire.

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, in 2009, had the following levels of competition:^[1]

• 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

Mountain Mayhem took place this year at Eastnor Castle, Deer Park in Ledbury from 18 – 20 June 2010.

Challenging the country’s most fearless riders, the adrenaline filled event sold out in record time last year. Entry forms for the event can be downloaded from www.osmountainmayhem.co.uk from midnight on 28 February.

The first Mountain Mayhem took place in 1998 at Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire.

In 1999 the race moved to Sandwell Park Farm in the Sandwell Valley Country Park, West Midlands.

In 2004 the race moved to the Deer Park of Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. The course currently uses a 9-mile loop. This year's race saw an estimated crowd of 15,000 spectators.^[2]

Sponsors

Between 1998 and 2002 it was sponsored by Red Bull.

Between 2003 and 2006 it was sponsored by Saab and Salomon.

For 2007 it was sponsored by Giant and T-Mobile.

For 2008 it was sponsored by Giant

From 2009 it has been sponsored by Original Source, a PZ Cussons brand.^[3]

Weather

The race has recently had a reputation for wet weather (sharing similar weather to the Glastonbury Festival 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.

Participation

This race is open to all who wish to ride to in it, subject to available space. The 2009 race saw an estimated 2500 riders. According to Patrick Adams, an organizer of the event,^[4]

Since its beginning back in 1998, the event has grown and developed over the years to become the biggest 24-hour mountain bike endurance event worldwide.

Competitors may enter individually or in teams of four, five, or ten. Registration fees are £200 for small teams, £265 for a ten-person team, and £265 for individuals.^[4]

See also

• Mountain Mayhem 2008
• Mountain Mayhem 2009
• Mountain bike racing
• 24 hour mountain bike races
• Sleepless in the Saddle
• 24 Hours of Adrenalin

External links

Official Website

• Mountain Mayhem 2008
• Original Source Mountain Mayhem

Live Reports

• On One Bikes reports from Mountain Mayhem 2010

Results

• 2003 Results
• 2004 Results
• 2005 Results
• 2006 Results
• 2009 Results

References

1. ^ "Mountain Mayhem - 2009". Singletrack Magazine. 21 June 2009. http://www.singletrackworld.com/race-results/mayhem-09/. Retrieved 8 July 2009. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Are You Ready for Mayhem?". Singletrack Magazine. 16 June 2009. http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/06/are-you-ready-for-mayhem/. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
3. ^ Marketing Week article
4. ^ ^{a b} "2009 Mountain Mayhem to take place in June". BikeRadar. 25 June 2009. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/2009-mountain-mayhem-to-take-place-in-june-20068. Retrieved 8 July 2009.