Marathon mountain bike races, often referred to as cross-country marathon (XCM), are a very demanding form of

mountain bike racing Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctione ...

covering at least usually in mountainous terrain. Events held in Europe are typically just a little longer than the average cross country mountain bike race. Marathon events in the USA and Canada are typically longer than and are very different from cross country races.

UCI events

The

UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

has established a championship series for such events, the Marathon World Cup. The 2014 UCI rules limit events to distances between and . Almost all of the participants are elite professional mountain bike racers. There is an annual

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

event, the

UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships is the world championship event for marathon mountain bike races. Inaugurated by the Union Cycliste Internationale in 2003, the event is held annually in single classes for men and women. The 20 ...

. The races can be run over as a single or multi-lap course, however, the course cannot cover the same lap more than three times. JMajors900

Non-UCI events

Non-UCI events routinely cover much longer distances. The typical event in the USA is either based on time, typically 12 or 24 hours, or distance, the most common being . Events based on hours typically allow either people to compete individually or as part of the team. Distance events are almost all solo events. The number of these events and those taking part in them have grown greatly. The first such events began to be held routinely in the early 1990s typically had less than 50 racers. In 2006 nearly 100 events were held and most had more than 150 racers. The world's largest mountain bike marathon race by the number of participants is the

Birkebeinerrittet Birkebeinerrittet (lit. The Birkebeiner cycling race) is a long-distance mountain bike cycling race held annually in Norway. It is the world's largest mountain bike race in number of contestants. In 2009, 17,164 riders signed up, and 15,140 cyclis ...

, , held annually in Norway. While the distance is short for a marathon mountain bike event, the number of participants and history make it noteworthy.

Notable races

* Montezuma’s Revenge * Wilderness 101 Mountain Bicycle Race * Mohican MTB 100 * Lumberjack 100 * The Endurance 100 * Breckenridge 100 *

Leadville Trail 100 MTB The Leadville Trail 100 MTB is the second oldest of the well-known marathon mountain bike races held in the United States, the oldest being the Wilderness 101 Mountain Bicycle Race, Wilderness 101 in central Pennsylvania. The Leadville Trail 10 ...

Brazil Ride The Brazil Ride MTB Stage Race is a seven bicycle race in Chapada Diamantina area of Brazil. The Brazil Ride premiered in November 2010 Each day of the competition provide an average of of mountain bike terrain. The stage is the Chapada Diamant ...

more than 500 km over 7 days *

Chupacabras (cycling race) Chupacabras is a 100 km mountain bike race in Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The annual race has taken place every October since 1997. It is sponsored entirely by the private sector and draws more than three thousand competitors each year, ...

* Shenandoah Mountain 100 *

Oakridge Mountain Bike Marathon Oak Ridge or Oakridge may refer to numerous locations in English-speaking countries - the most well-known being Oak Ridge, Tennessee, due to its part in the Manhattan Project. These and other meanings include: Places Canada * Oakridge, Calgary, ...

, 55 miles *

La Ruta de los Conquistadores La Ruta de los Conquistadores ("The Conquistadors' Trail" in English), known as the first mountain bike race of its kind, is a multi-stage race held in Costa Rica.Urbina, Roman. "La Ruta De Los Conquistadores." Personal interview. 11 February 2013 ...

, 161 miles, 3 stages *

Yak Attack Yak Attack is an annual high-altitude, long-distance mountain bike race. The race has been known to be non profit. It takes place in Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. ...

Cape Epic The Absa Cape Epic or the Cape Epic, founded by Kevin Vermaak is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. First staged in 2004, it has been accredited as ''hors catégorie'' (beyond categorization) by the Un ...

– 700 km over 8 days *

Titan Desert The Garmin Titan Desert is a six-day multiple stage mountain bike race held annually in Morocco since 2006 through the Moroccan desert between the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert. The competition was founded by Jaime Alguersuari Sr.'s RPM-MKT ...

– 600 km over 6 days *

Simpson Desert Bike Challenge The Simpson Desert Bike Challenge (SDBC) is an annual staged mountain bike race held in the Simpson Desert of Australia. First held in 1987, the SDBC is run by the non-profit organisation Desert Challenge Inc The SDBC covers between 500 and 60 ...

– 600 km over 5 days *

The Merritt Crown ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

References

External links

UCI 2015 Mountain Bike Marathon Info

The National Endurance Mountain Bike Series (NEU MTB Series)
{{Mountain bike racing Endurance games Mountain biking Ultra-distance cycling