TWEEDLOVE, the ten-day bike festival set in the very bike-friendly Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders, has just announced a major new all-mountain enduro race to be staged at Forestry Commission Scotland’s Glentress on 27 May 2012.
In a new take on the gravity mountain bike enduro format The King and Queen of the Hill, the first UK event to be sponsored by Swedish kit brand, POC, will see riders compete to be crowned the ‘official ruler’ of Glentress, widely recognised as one of Britain’s best trail centres.
The course will take riders to near the very top of Glentress Forest’s big hill, and then right back down again, by way of a series of timed race and linking stages, with riders required to have at least one uphill stage included in their overall points score.
The King and Queen of the Hill also features a massive final descent stage, running from near Spooky Wood all the way back down to Peebles, with a big proportion of natural trails along the route.
Event organiser, Neil Dalgleish, said: “If you’re going to be the King or Queen of Glentress, you’ve got to rule the whole hill, which means you need to be decent going up as well as a ripper coming down.
“The final descent is going to be a real challenge for all the riders with a mix of Glentress signature man-made track as well as off-camber roots, natural, tight technical and fast open sections all the way from the top of the hill, right down to the bottom.”
With Alpine Bikes already in place as sponsor of the whole TweedLove bike festival, the organisers reckon they have scored another coup by attracting Swedish helmets, armour and clothing brand, POC, as headline event sponsor. (To find out more about POC visit http://pocsports.com)
Neil Dalgleish said: “We’re totally delighted to be working with POC – it’s the perfect brand for this event.
“This is the first UK race that POC has got on board with. They’re one of the coolest brands in the world of bikes right now, and we’re going to make sure this event totally rocks. Winners of the race will be crowned with the POC Trabec, the perfect enduro helmet fit for any King or Queen of the Hill.”
Another first for the ‘King and Queen of the Hill’ is that it will start and finish in the town of Peebles, in the grounds of the renowned Peebles Hotel Hydro.
Neil Dalgleish said: “The Peebles Hotel Hydro is a beautiful hotel, with amazing grounds all round it – and the trails roll right down to their door. It’s the perfect spot for the event HQ.”
Entries for the race are now open on the TweedLove website – http://tweedlove.com/ – which has more info on the race and the whole TweedLove programme – ten days of good times on and off the bike.
TweedLove would like to thank: Forestry Commission Scotland, Peebles Hotel Hydro, POC, Alpine Bikes, 2pure and EventScotland for their help and support.
Website: http://tweedlove.com/
Twiiter – @tweedlovefest
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/TweedLove/138953616122719
ENDS
Media contact:
Paddy Cuthbert | Podge Publicity | M: 07968699636 | e: paddy@podge.co.uk
Organiser contact:
Neil Dalgleish | Hillside Agency | M: 07796 173939
Notes to editors:
POC King & Queen of the Hill is sponsored by POC
POC is a Swedish company, built on a strong mission; to do everything they possibly can to save lives and reduce consequences of accidents for gravity sports athletes by developing and renewing what personal protection is all about. POC has, in many ways, already set a new standard when it comes to technical solutions, construction, material combinations and engineering. Their clean, minimal and bright helmets, armour, clothing, goggles and sunglasses are a breath of fresh air to the market. To find out more about POC visit http://pocsports.com
POC are distributed in the UK by 2pure. T: 0844 811 2001 | E: info@2pure.com
TweedLove 2012 is sponsored by Alpine Bikes
http://www.alpinebikes.com/
Peebles Hotel Hydro special offer
Book during January – 50 per cent off a 2012 break, June rate is £62.50 per person per night and includes dinner, bed & breakfast, leisure club facilities. At weekends it is usually a minimum two-night stay.
The special offer mountain bikers’ rate is £49 per person per night in a single bedroom and includes bed & breakfast.
http://www.peebleshydro.co.uk/
TweedLove 2012 is supported by EventScotland
EventScotland is the national events agency.
EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org.
The Year of Creative Scotland 2012 will spotlight and celebrate Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage and is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.
Scottish Borders Council
http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/
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Contact: Paddy Cuthbert
Phone: 07968699636
Email: paddy@podge.co.uk
Website: http://www.tweedlove.com
