The first round of the 2010 Cross-Country World Cup takes place in DalbyForest, north Yorkshire on Sunday 25 April – and the Dalby Dare gives you the chance to ride the course and compare your time with the elite riders.
The 30km route takes in Medusa’s Drop, Worry Gill and Dixon’s Hollow before breaking out of the World Cup route and continuing onto other red and black trails with a series of testing zigzags up Addersback climb.
We caught up with some of the British cross-country team on their recent training camp at Dalby, and talked to them about racing a World Cup on home soil and the challenge of the Dalby Dare.
Steve James said: “There haven’t been a lot of Junior World Cups recently but they decided this year to do a full season. To find out that the first one’s in your home country is really exciting. It’s great to have it here on a fantastic course.”
Annie Last can't wait to race in front of a home crowd
Annie Last, who came fifth in the under-23 category at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, is looking forward to racing on a familiar course. “I did the NPS last year, which was on a similar course to what the World Cup’s going to be on,” she said. “So I’ve had a bit of a look and know some of the tracks that it might be on and how the course might be laid out. I’m looking forward to it.”
2009 British youth champion Grant Ferguson said the Dalby Dare was a brilliant opportunity for mere mortals to test themselves against the best on a top quality course. “I think they’ll have a good time,” he said. “It’s a good track and they can test themselves and see how far they’re off from beating a world champ.”
Entry for the Dalby Dare is £32. All riders will be timed on their World Cup lap as well as the entire Dalby Dare challenge route, and will receive a T-shirt and goody bag. For more information and to register for Dalby Dare, go to yorkshiremtbworldcup.co.uk.
British Cycling is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to become part of the team at the forthcoming 2010 UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup. A number of exciting roles are now available offering an amazing chance to be involved in the first ever World Cup in Yorkshire. For more information head to the British Cycling website.