Rescheduled Australian Mountain Bike Series Dates Announced


Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) wishes to announce some adjusted dates and details for the 2014-15 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Series and the 2015 Oceania Mountain Bike Championships.

The 2015 Oceania Championships, in conjunction with the final round of the Subaru National Series, has been rescheduled and will now be held from 26 February to 1 March, 2015.

The Oceania Championships were initially announced in July this year, with the Subaru Australian Series announced in early August.

The subsequent announcement a month later of the Crankworx festival to be held in Rotorua, New Zealand on the same weekend as the Oceania Championships caused a scheduling conflict in the Oceania region.

On becoming aware of the conflict, MTBA initiated discussions immediately with all parties involved, including the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the Oceania Cycling Confederation (OCC), Crankworx, BikeNZ, Rotorua Council and Toowoomba Council.

Further to the Oceania Championships date change, the planned event at Mt Stromlo in the ACT during February will not go ahead as potential dates are not available as part of a series of date adjustments to allow the best possible overall outcome to occur.

Unfortunately it was not possible to add a multi-discipline round due to the very crowded major Gravity event calendar in early 2015.

Significant effort was invested by all to work towards the best outcome for riders and fans.

Unfortunately, it was not possible for the Crankworx festival to adjust their announced date.

A large number of alternate options were considered, including many that were suggested by the mountain bike community.

The concept of positioning the Oceania Championships immediately before or after the Crankworx event to allow international riders to participate in both races was seriously considered but unfortunately it was not logistically possible, nor did such options align well with the start of the 2015 UCI World Cup schedule.

MTBA would like to especially thank the Victorian Downhill Series and Event Management Solutions Australia for their cooperation in rescheduling their own events to make the overall changes possible.

The primary objective of the process was to ensure fairness to all riders and give as many people as possible the opportunity to participate and spectate at all of the major events in the Oceania region in 2015.

The season for 2016 will go ahead as announced and in consideration for cooperation from MTBA in regard to 2015 dates, New Zealand organisations have agreed to work around our already announced and further expanded 2016 National Season.

Further, these discussions have further opened channels of communication between both countries and Australia and New Zealand organisations have agreed to meet regularly to ensure coordinated scheduling for major events in the region in the future.

Mr Shane Coppin, CEO of MTBA, worked with all stakeholders on the change.

“It was a challenging situation, but after significant discussions including several meetings in New Zealand, we have reached the best possible outcome for all parties.

“The newly announced Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Series and Oceania Championships present our riders with an excellent season of high quality racing.

“The removal of the date conflict with the Crankworx festival will also allow our riders and spectators to attend that event as it ventures into the Southern Hemisphere for the very first time”.

Ms Tracey Gaudry, President of Oceania Cycling Confederation and Vice President Union Cycliste Internationale, expressed her thanks to all parties involved.

“Mountain Bike is a great cycling discipline which continues to grow in popularity worldwide, and in the Oceania region. The new date for the Oceania MTB Championships confirms it as a priority event for MTB riders in this region aiming to peak early in the season where they can gain valuable UCI points in the lead up to the 2015 UCI World Cup series.”

 

Detailed information on all events will be available shortly via www.mtba.asn.au

 

2014/15 Series and Championships

2014-2015 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Series

12th – 14th Dec 2014 – You Yangs, VIC – DHI, XCO, XCE
24th – 25th Jan 2015 – Pemberton, WA – XCO (Double-header – two rounds – one each day)
6th – 8th Feb 2015 – Thredbo, NSW – DHI
26th Feb – 1st Mar 2015 – Toowoomba, QLD – DHI, XCO, XCE – In assoc. w/ ‘15 Oceania Championships

Note: All National Series rounds will be UCI Cat 2 events

 

2015 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Championships

12th – 15th Mar 2015 – Bright, VIC – DHI, XCO, XCE, Trials

 

2015 Oceania Mountain Bike Championships

26th Feb – 1st Mar 2015 – Toowoomba, QLD – DHI, XCO, XCE

 

2015/16 Series and Championships

2015-2016 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Series

13th – 15th Nov 2015 – Adelaide, SA – DHI
27th – 29th Nov 2015 – You Yangs, VIC – DHI, XCO, XCE
11th – 13th Dec 2015 – Mt Stromlo, ACT – DHI, XCO, XCE
23rd – 24th Jan 2016 – Pemberton, WA – XCO (Double-header – two rounds – one each day)
5th – 7th Feb 2016 – Thredbo, NSW – DHI, XCO, XCE
4th – 6th Mar 2016 – Toowoomba, QLD – DHI, XCO, XCE

Note: All National Series rounds will be either UCI Cat 1 or Cat 2 events

 

2016 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Championships

17th – 20th Mar 2016 – Bright, VIC – DHI, XCO, XCE, Trials

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