CONTACT

If you have any questions or would like to know more about Mud Sweat and Gears please contact:

EMAIL: matt.ewings@essex.gov.uk

PHONE: 01245 433249

MOBILE: 07879 117437

Welcome to Mud Sweat and Gears

Mud Sweat and Gears offers riders of all abilities the chance to participate in the exciting sport of mountain bike racing. Since 2006 we have grown from 120 participants to over 1500 participants in 2010. Despite this growth, Mud Sweat and Gears remains extreme fun for all. We continue to be proud and provide for our youth and grass roots following, whilst taking on a greater status within the racing calendar.

We look forward to seeing you on the start line soon.

Warm-Up Series

The warm-up series has been designed to build confidence and fitness before the start of the race season. The courses are shorter and less technical , but will provide you with a fantastic platform to get you into your racing groove!

Eastern Region MTB Series

Eastern Region MTB Series offers riders of all abilities the chance to test their fitness, nerve and bike handling skills at six great courses throughout Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. The series brings together established venues such as Thetford Forest and Langdon Hills alongside an exciting new course at Hylands Park, so whether you like free flowing trails or a tighter, more technical circuit, there is something for everyone.

Summer Enduro

For those riders that prefer to go the distance – we have a brand new event for this year! With 6hr, 8hr and 10hr races available, the summer enduro will provide you with ultimate test of endurance.

Weekday Blast

On the Wednesday before each major race you will have the opportunity to have a guided tour of the course. Starting at 6pm and finishing just before sunset, The Weekday Blast will provide you with an opportunity to build your confidence, develop your skills and socialise with friends.

Trips

In addition to offering events, we have also developed a number of fully inclusive action-packed MTB trips to Wales and France.

Mountain bike events for everyone, across the eastern region

Format and Entry Fees

For the 2012 season we have evaluated our category system and start procedure and made some changes. With MSG growing year on year we have introduced a Junior and Master category in response to the growing demand and we have renamed the Warrior races as the Open category.

In reality the changes to the categories are small. The Warrior Senior/Vet category is now the Open category and the Racer Senior category is now the Sport and Master categories (no BC licence required), this is to recognise the growing number of riders within these age ranges and allow them to race for prizes much like we do with the Vet and Grand Vet categories. Finally we added a Junior category as any young aspiring rider coming up through the ranks needs this vital final step before becoming a senior rider.

Under 12s – Go-ride Racing: 1.5hr professional coaching season with qualified British Cycling coaches followed by a 20 minute race. Great fun!!

All under 12s must be registered and collected by their guardian (over 18 yrs). Guardians must remain on site but are encouraged to take part in the Open category races whilst the under 12s are in their coaching session.

The coaching session is not compulsory however, there will be no reduction in price should you choose not to attend.

CATEGORY START TIME FINISH TIME ENTRY FEE
Male / Female Male / Female Online / On the day
Under 12s Coaching 10:00 / 10.00 11.30 / 11.30
Under 12s Race 12:30 / 12.30 12.50 / 12.50 £10 / £15
CATEGORY START TIME ENTRY FEE RACE DURATION
Male / Female Pre-enter / On the day
Juvenile 13 to 14 yrs 10:04am/10.06am* £15 / £20 45 min to 1hr
Youth 15 to 16 yrs 10:02am/10.06am* £15 / £20 45 min to 1hr
Junior 17 to 18 yrs 14:15pm/10.06am* £18 / £25 1hr to 1.5hrs
Open 17+ yrs 10:00am/10.06am* £15 / £25 1hr
Sport 19 to 39 yrs 14:00pm*/10.06am* £20 / £30 1.5hrs to 2hrs
Master 30 to 39 yrs 14:00pm*/10.06am* £20 / £30 1.5hrs to 2hrs
Veteran 40 to 49 yrs 14:00pm*/10.06am* £20 / £30 1.5hrs to 2hrs
Grand Veteran 50+ yrs 14:00pm*/10.06am* £20 / £30 1.5hrs to 2hrs
Elite/Expert Licence Holders 14:00pm*/10.06am* £20 / £30 1.5hrs to 2hrs

* If individual category numbers exceed 25 riders then the race start times will be staggered.

Many of you will have noticed that the female start times have changed. The reasons for this are that when evaluating the 2011 season we saw that average female attendance across the series was very low. With the old format the women were spread throughout the day and always placed at the back of the male races, this led to sometimes only 2 or 3 women taking the start.

By placing the women all together (all be it still categorised separately) it is hoped that we can encourage more women to take part, increase the competition between them and to provide them with their own identity. I implore you to contact us should you feel this is a good or bad move.

MOMENTS FROM 2011

  • Hylands Elite Race
  • Hylands Elite Race
  • Hylands Elite Race
  • Hylands Elite Race
  • Hylands Team CCN warming up
  • Hylands Youth Boys
  • Hylands Youth Girls
  • Hylands
  • Thetford
  • Thetford Kids Race
  • Thetford Elite Race
  • Thetford
  • Under 12s
  • Under 12s