News
MTBO World Cup - Long Distance
Posted: 19/04/11
The mass start long distance race is Hungary’s signature event. The courses are “gaffled” using a series of loops with some common and some split legs meaning that you might be racing with someone who then splits on to a different part of the course before rejoining for another few common legs later on. All the riders eventually complete all the legs, so everything ends up fair. The start is Le-Mans style run to your bikes, and the action is filmed by a light aircraft.
The start/finish area was the same as the previous day on the Middle race, so the terrain for the first and last controls was the familiar lowland scrub and grassland, but the map took in a large area of upland forest to the west, and further west the courses visited urban areas and vineyards of the small town of Sümeg.
Both of the British Men, Mark Stodgell and Alan Hartley had bad crashes hitting their heads and breaking their helmets. Stodge saved his crash until the last control in full view of everybody, Alan fell on the first big descent into town trying to catch the riders in front but remounted to finish the course albeit a bit slower than he may have otherwise been. Stodge finished in 48th and Alan in 61st. Helen Clayton had a good start but found the course on the long side and finished in 34th. Emily Benham felt much better, but still not well enough to take on a long race