Southern XC 2009 - Round 3 News
01.06.09
Just 1 week to go until round 3 of the series at Pippingford Estate, East Sussex. This is a brand new venue and we are really excited about course here. Situated on the endge of the Ashdown forest the venue offers som eimpressive gradients which means great descent and challenging climbs.
You can see a preview of the venue at You Tube here
Course description:
Pippingford is 4.2 miles long and has 650 feet of climbing per lap. There is a long concrete road start leading into pine trees before the first 1 mile descent. The course drops rapidly at first round some new large berms and jumps. There is a fast descent leading into more bermed corners and blind crests. There is another drop across a stream and then it levels off a bit in mature beech woods beside a deep stream gulley with some little turns up the hill. This leads to the first lake where you pick up a fire road climb before turning off onto a steep technical climb. Then its a drop down through ferns and down to the 2nd lake where you pick up the fisherman's paths beside the lakes, with twists, turns, dips and crests a fast fun section but watch out for the bridges. This leads to a technical climb up the bank beside a weir pool and onto a tough little climb. There is a short descent back down to the final lake path which finally turns back up the hill for the start of the long climb to the finish. The first part is steady along the edge of the woods before crossing another stream and it kicks up round some hairpins then into some pine trees where it starts to rise up steeper. Across an estate road onto some fire roads where it levels off a bit for a rest before a technical section round the edge of an old quarry. Then it starts to climb again through woods getting steeper nearer the top leading into the rock garden before the finish.
Pre entries close at 5pm on Wednesday.
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Southern XC 2009 - Dirtworker Category announced
15.05.09
Thanks to our sponsors at Dirtworker, we are pleased to announce that at round 2 we will be awarding a Dirtworker to the winner of the Masters Mens category. The lucky category will change each round (Elite and Expert are excluded as there are cash prizes in those categories).
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Important - Race Times Changed!
11.05.09
Important! Please note that race start times for Race 3 have been brought forward slightly to avoid a few of the problems we had at round 1 with the large number of entries. This only affects the below categories, all other race times are as before.
11.15 - Open Male
11.25 - Fun Male
11.20 - Junior Female
11.21 - Veteran Female + Grand Veteran Female
11.22 - Open Female
11.23 - Fun Female
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Team Challenge Entry Still Open
11.05.09
We have kept entries open for the Team Challenge. If you didn't sign up at Round 1 you can still sign up and have your round 1 points retrospectively applied.
For 2009 the SMBC team are running the SouthernXC Team Challenge. Simply team up with 2 mates and pick a team name. Give us these details, either via email ( henry@southernmbc.com ) or in the registration tent at round 1 Bordon) or 2 (Crow Hill). We'll then allocate points to each member, based on where they finish in their category. At the end of the series the team with the most points will win the Southern XC Team Shield.
The rules-
1- A team can have any mix of age/gender/category
2- Riders in categories with less than 5 riders will get ½ points.
3- A rider can only be in 1 team through the 2009 series.
4- Once chosen, team members will be in that team for the whole series.
5- All teams must be submitted to SMBC by 31st May 2009
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Southern XC 2009 - Round 1 Round up
27.04.09
Thank you to all 541 of you who turned up to enjoy the sunshine and great racing at Round 1 on Sunday! Everyone enjoyed the fast, fun but very demanding course and there was some very close racing. Results are available at Timelaps.
A huge thanks to Chris Denman anh his West Drayton MBC club who prepared the couse and run the evnt on the day.
Round 2 is Crow Hill on the 17th of May. SMBC will be preparing the course and running the event on the day. Crow Hill was the venue of last year'sNational Championships and will be used for the British XC series later in the year. The course is a mix of decidous and coniferous woodland and rides well in all conditions. See you there!
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Southern XC 2009 - Dirtworker Category announced
24.04.09
Thanks to our sponsors at Dirtworker, we are pleased to announce that at round 1 we will be awarding a Dirtworker to the winner of the Sports Mens category. The lucky category will change each round (Elite and Expert are excluded as there are cash prizes in those categories).
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Southern XC 2009 - Entry on the day available
23.04.09
Pre entries for the first round have now closed. Despite the high pre entry numbers, there will still be entry on the day for all categories. The Bordon course has some great singletrack but has plenty of room to pass too. The start straight is long and wide too so we can accomodate very big fields.
If you are worried about the possibilities of showers on sunday, don't be! The woods at Bordon are very well draining and the course will be great whatever the weather. The venue also benefits from a massive tarmac car park and good access road.
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Southern XC 2009 - 1 week to go
20.04.09
Only 6 days to go until the start of the 2009 Southern XC Series. Round 1 of the series will be held at the classic Bordon venue and promoted by West Drayton MBC. The race course will be a mix of fast flowing singletrack and sharp, leg sapping, climbs. This week's weather is forecast to be dry and warm so you can expect dusty trails which will be somewhat different to last year's snow! Bordon benefits from being a very spacious venue with a massive tarmac car park and a wide, safe, start area. Plus West Drayton MBC always generate a great atmosphere.
There will be a trade stand, catering and toilets on site.
Pre entries close at 5pm on Wednesday although entries on the day will be available for a surcharge.
The 2009 Southern XC Series is set to be classic. Building on the achievements of last year we hope to improve further and have addressed a few of our weaknesses from last year. We cannot emphasise enough how good our new Pippingford venue will be, there are long climbs and epic descents which will make the journey to East sussex very worthwile. Our Alton venue has been improved with a completley different start location and a new course. Crow Hill will feature some new tracks and be a great taster of the National event it will host in July. Erlestoke simply doesn't need improving it will be as great as ever!
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Southern XC 2009 - Team category details announced
02.03.09
For 2009 we will be running a team classification for a bit of added fun.
New for 2009, nominate 2 riders to join you in a team of 3. The higher up in your category you finish, the more points your team gets! At the end of the series a Team Challenge Shield will be given to the team with the most points. Riders in categories with less than 5 entrants get half points. Nominate your team at the first round you compete in.
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Southern XC 2009 - Dirtworker come onboard
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Southern XC 2009 - Dirtworker come onboard
26.02.09
We are delighted to announce Dirtworker as a series sponsor. The portable bike washer is a classic and iconic bit of mountain bike equipment. We will be giving away a Dirtworker to the winner of a different category at every round.
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Southern XC 2009 - Round 6 Venue change
23.02.09
The final round of the 2009 Southern XC series has unforunately had to be changed. After anouncing the venue for the series final as Bristol we were subsequently told by the council that the venue had already been booked by a horse event on that day. As there was no way the events could co exist we have had to find an alternative venue.
The venue of round 6 will be Pippingford Estate in West Sussex on the 6th of September.
Our original plan was to use this venue twice in 2009 as it is so good. However, we felt as a new venue it was best introduced for a single race this year. Maybe fate has played its part but we have now been forced to use this venue twice in one season. The course building team were there on saturday and are so excited about this venue's possibilities. We can have 2 completley different race course there and there are downhills of over 1 mile in length!
Once again, we apologise for the problems of finalising the date and venue for this round.
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Southern XC 2009 - Online Entry Now Open
06.01.09
Online entry is now open for the 2009 series. Please note, there will be no postal entry for the 2009 series as the uptake for 2008 was too low and resources can be allocated better elsewhere.
Entry on the day will be available at all rounds for a small surcharge.
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Southern XC 2009 - Race dates announced
28.10.08
Pedal On is pleased to announce its continued sponsorship of the Southern XC series. The 2008 series was a great success with great racing and large entries, despite being dealt a bad hand by the weather at a few of the events . For 2009 the series will continue to develop and maintain its position as the UK's premier regional series offering racing for all abilities on a variety of courses. As in 2008, the races will be organised by SMBC, West Drayton MBC, and Julian Lye's crew.
Dates for the 2009 series are now confirmed. We have kept the most popular venues of 2008 and will continue to develop them based on our experience of 2008, we also have a great new venue in East Sussex. In 2008 we suffered with extreme bad weather at 3 events, whilst we cannot control the weather we have done our best to weather proof the series by putting our best all weather courses at the start of the year. The series starts with the classic Bordon course which should withstand all that the UK's spring weather can throw at it! Round 2 will revisit the site of the 2008 National Championship and provide a great chance to test the venue before the 2009 NPS series visits. Round 3 visits the all new venue at Pippingford Estate, East Sussex. We are all very excited by this new venue which offers a mix of woods, heath and grassland set in a private estate with fantastic gradients to challenge everyone. Round 4 will take place at the classic Southern venue of Erlestoke, a venue many thought was the best of 08. Round 5 incorporates the Southern Championships and revisits Chawton Woods near Alton but with completley new access on the North side of the wood. This means the course will be very different, the Arena brand new and car parking will be easy whatever the weather. The final round's venue is yet to be confirmed but the date is confirmed as all 3 potential venues for this round are available for this date.
Round 1: April 26th - Bordon, Hants
Round 2: May 17th - Crow Hill, New Forest
Round 3; June 7th - Pippingford Estate, East Sussex
Round 4: July 12th - Erlestoke, Wiltshire
Round 5: August 2nd - Old Park Farm, Chawton Woods, Alton (Includes Southern Champs)
Round 6: September 13th - Venue TBC
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Southern XC Facebook Group
18.02.08: Southern XC Facebook Group Setup.
If you are a user of Facebook you may like to join the Southern Xc Facebook group. this is an informal group for riders to contact one another and share information abouth Southern XC. Simply visit Facebook and search for Southern XC
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