Hadleigh Park International

We are less than six weeks away from the biggest cross country mountain bike race that the United Kingdom has hosted since the 2012 Olympic Games!

The Hadleigh Park International will be held on 30th and 31st July 2016, at the home of the London Games, and will attract some of the World's biggest cross country talents as they make their final preparations for Rio 2016.

Race Organiser, Simon Burney, says,

"Four years on from the London Olympic MTB race, and just three weeks before the same again in Rio, it's an exciting prospect and I think very fitting that the best riders in the world will come back to Hadleigh to test themselves before the big day. 'Legacy' is always mentioned in and around the Olympics but what Essex have created with the Hadleigh venue is a perfect example of how it should work; an opportunity for mountain bike riders of every age and ability to ride in the wheel tracks of the superstars, and now an opportunity to watch them compete again is a perfect end to the London-Rio Olympic cycle".

The Hadleigh Park International is a Hors Categorie race, giving it one of the highest rankings of all international mountain bike events. As such, the race will have the highest calibre riders, organisation and course, bringing truly World-class racing to Britain.

Among those who have already entered the race is current World Champion, Nino Schurter. Schurter is a World Cup winning machine and will bring with him his Scott Odlo Racing team mates Michiel van der Heijden (former Junior and U23 World Champion and current Dutch National Champion), Jenny Rissveds (last year's U23 World Cup winner and current Swedish Champion), and Andri Frischnect (U23 Swiss Champion).

Also in the mix will be some of Britain's biggest XC stars. Annie Last, British Champion and London Olympian, will be joined by her team mate from OMX Pro Team, Isla Short. Sophie Wright, current Junior European Champion, is also set to start in the UCI Junior Series race which will be held before the Elite races.

For aspiring Youth racers there will a chance on Saturday 30th to lay the tyre tracks that the professionals will race on the following day. All Youth category riders are encouraged to come and race, and be part of this World-class event.

Many of the Elite racers at the Hadleigh Park International will be in their final build-up to the 2016 Olympic MTB race in Rio de Janeiro. The 31st July will be a final test of their form, their competitors and their equipment which gives the race a hugely important position in the calendar and will add pressure and excitement to the racing.

Rob Anderson from Hadleigh Park says,

"Hadleigh Park is delighted to welcome back the best Athletes is the World to the former Olympic Mountain bike venue and it's exciting to see some of the younger athletes who were motivated by the events in 2012 at Hadleigh now competing on the World stage. It is now their turn to inspire the next generation to get on their balance bikes and start cycling at Hadleigh Park."

The Hadleigh Park International is a unique chance to get up close and personal to some truly elite sportsmen and women. The Hadleigh Park course snakes its way around a natural amphitheatre which gives spectators a fantastic view from the arena, where one can grab an ice cream and enjoy the racing and the vistas right out to the Thames estuary. Alternatively, spectators can roam the course to get close to the action to see how some of the World's best tackle a course renowned for its physical demands and technical treachery.

Whether you bring a picnic blanket to sit, relax and soak up the atmosphere, or whether you bring flags and cowbells and create the atmosphere, you are very welcome at the Hadleigh Park International on the 30th and 31st of July!

If you are an Elite, Junior or Youth racer you can enter here: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/146584/Hadleigh-Park-International-.

And for spectators it's free!

For more information visit the website – www.hadleighparkinternational.co.uk – and follow us on Twitter at @Hadleigh_IntMTB.