The Event

The event will utilise the purpose built MTB trail at Sandwell Valley Country Park

The aim of the event is introduce local mountain bike activity on a mid-week calendar slot that fits as entry level or training opportunity to supplement the other event opportunities within the region.

The event in 2014 will provide a test opportunity for further MTB TT events to be incorporated as part of the 2015 calendar.

The event will be based upon a two lap Time Trial fomat. Riders will get two TT opportunities per night.

Riders will be set off at 1 minute intervals.

Rider limit to be set at a maximum of 30 for this test event.

Signing on will commence at 5pm.

Practice/ warm up will be from 5.15 to 5.55pm.

Rider briefing at 5.55pm.

Time trial 1 will commence at 6pm. 30 riders at 1 minute intervals will finish two laps in approximately 40 minutes. Estimated finish of TT1 will be 6.45pm.

Time trial 2 will commence at 7pm. Time trial 2 may be 1 lap depending upon light levels in the woodland.

The Venue

Back in the 12th-century a Benedictine monastery was located on the site of an earlier hermitage in the area now called Sandwell Valley Country Park, situated at the north eastern edge of West Bromwich. The monastery was closed down in 1525 on the directions of Cardinal Wolsey, then in 1705 Sandwell Hall was erected on the site for the Earl of Dartmouth, incorporating some of the old priory buildings. The hall was demolished in 1928 with the development of Hamstead Colliery, which came to dominate the whole area. When the pit was nationalised in the 1940s it was one of the largest in South Staffordshire, outside Cannock Chase, with nearly 1,000 men working underground here and at the nearby Sandwell Park Colliery.

The collieries closed in the early 1960s, since when the land has been transformed into an urban oasis. The earthworks became a series of artificial lakes and spoil from the site was landscaped to produce an amazingly different scene. Sandwell Valley Country Park is now a fascinating area of lakes and 2,000 acres (810ha) of parkland developed from the old colliery sites and the remains of the Sandwell Hall Estate. The park has become a major leisure facility, with three golf courses, walking routes, a Millennium Cycle Route and two off-road cycle paths which have been specially designed for mountain bikes. Around 20,000 people visit the park each year.

Info for Riders

This is an individual off road time trial event. This is an initial test event for 2014 and is restricted to a maximum of 30 riders and is open to riders racing in the Juvenile Category or older. Entry is on a first come first served basis. Riders will be set off at 1 minute intervals in number order. Riders need to ensure they are ready at their allocated start time. Please be aware that as you enter the car park there is a "goalpost" height restriction barrier!!