What makes a great mountainbike race ?

[martelpypie]

What do you expect from the organisers of a mountain bike race to do, in order to call it a fantastic race? What do you want to see and experience?

[dirtrider]

Single track , single track and more single track . The odd skinny across a raging river , few drops , insane rocky steep climbs , Sandy corners and a few swamps for good measure .

[Dirtbreath]

The route as above and a properly managed field. Nothing more frustrating than having to walk what would be awesome riding.

[linnega]

Hill2Hill is a pretty cool race because he has something of everything.  A bit of singletrack, cane riding, dirt road, footpaths, concrete sections, steps, a bridge to bunny hop onto, sewerage (oops).  Makes for a damn good few hours out.  Sani2C is great because the organisation is first class and there route is excellent.

 

D-R: The single track at last years Karkloof was rubbish and there was too much of it.  Badly cut singletrack is the worst thing to be riding when you are tired.

 

Dirtbreath: Waiting is part of racing.  If you don't want to wait in a race, be in the front few.  If it bothers you, don't race - just ride with a mate or two.

 

[Cranky]

As above, preferably in unexplored, scenic area. No overlap of half-marathon and marathon riders. Balance of climbing and descending. Good water tables, well spaced with accurate distances given. Clear and accurate route profile provided before race. Fair entry fee, and good sponsors. Activities for supporters, or shorter family race distances.

[Dirtbreath]

linnega, please read my post. I said walking, not waiting. I have no problem waiting for people to ride, you actually do get a chance to chat to your fellow riders whom you share a bit of pain with further down the line. An example would be Karkloof last year compared to this year. Bottle necks during the first few k's caused everyone to wait quite a while The organisers took notice and 100% sorted out the problem which has hugely improved the race.