Merida Bicycles sponsor the first ever TransWales

Merida Bicycles, the long time sponsor of the '100' series, has taken on an extra sponsorship for 2006 - the TransWales 7 day stage challenge.

Merida has been involved as the title sponsor of the '100' MTB Marathon series since 2004 and is going to continue to do so. On top of that they will take on the title sponsorship to the new mountain bike adventure of 2006. 'We have learned a lot from our involvement in the marathon series and we will continue with our involvement with the No. 1 UK MTB Marathon Series' says Chris Carter from Merida, 'but it is also time to push the envelope a little bit further by supporting this new big UK cycling adventure'. 'By being at the events and experiencing first hand what makes rider tick and what they really need to make their riding experience more enjoyable, we have been able to bring lots of those aspects into the 2006 and 2007 range' elaborates Chris Carter, 'being involved on a ground level with the more extreme challenge of riding your bike for 7 days on the trot we will be able to bring even more to the table when it comes to putting future Merida bike ranges together'.

Merida bikes (www.merida-bikes.co.uk) will be present at the stages and will contribute lots of the 'bits and pieces' that will make this event the mountain bike highlight of 2006 and the beginning of a new kind of event in the UK. The agreement is brand new and some of the details still have to be sorted out but the new Merida TransWales is ready to get going in August 2006. We will keep you posted on the developments.

The big 4 and all the other busy helpers…
Besides Merida a line-up of four category sponsors have been secured. Hayes Brakes (www.hotlines-europe.com) will be the patron of the Men's category, Buff Headwear (www.buffwear.co.uk) will take on the ladies category, High5 sports nutrition (www.highfive.co.uk) will look after the mixed category and Saris Rack Solutions (www.paligapltd.co.uk) is the sponsor of the vets category.

On top of these partners the event will get lots of help and support
from Schwalbe Tyres (www.schwalbe.co.uk), Bikefax (www.bike-fax.com), Exposure Lights (www.exposurelights.com) who will be hosting the night time trial and from the media partners What Mountain Bike (www.whatmtb.com) and Bikemagic (www.bikemagic.com). The TW '06 will be a great event with all these busy helpers doing their part…not to mention the marshals, caterers and everybody else involved.

TW'06 – last minute entries:
Looking at the entries there are still a few spaces left but with an extra 16 TransWales pages going into the MTB Guidebook which will go to almost 10,000 riders they might not stay available for much longer. So if you are up for the challenge and maybe even want to go for one of the prestigious category leader jerseys make sure that you enter soon. Just go onto www.mtbtransuk.co.uk and click on the entry form download. We also have a few 'single' riders on our list who are still looking for a riding partner. So if you want to do it but haven't got the right partner – maybe we can help.

By Michael Wilkens