What makes a great MTB Race?

[apclassic9]

OK - Just finished helping out with the local MTB race, and next year will the 10th anniversary... What, in your opinion, ASIDE from the actual course (which is great), makes a MTB race great - something you would actually travel a ways to get to?

Anybody here who went to the Appalachian Classic - what would encourage more riders to show up for Saturday events? A "King of the Mountain" race UP the Power Sldye? MTB Polo Match? :D

[blue_neon]

Ok talking about an XC race, I love rocks! Not little annoying ones that stick out of the ground but big ones! A group of them, that you have to pick a way to get over them and a path to get down them. The best XC race would be one with a variety of trails, jumps, lots of corners, huge rocks, and lots of up hill :D. Little rocks that stick up in trails (you find them on fire trails) are pathetically annoying!

[dirtbikedude]

Something along the lines of SeaOtter minus the road races. Vender booths, clinics for the kids and adults, an area with some stunts people could ride and learn on, an area for toddlers to hang out (bounce house, slides, etc.).

Bbq and concert after the races and maybe a big screen to watch a mtb vid or two during the bbq/concert.
This will cost a bit but it gives a good idea on what to do. Make it more of a festival w/races.

If you want more racers on Saturday then run the main races on Saturday. Offer a good size cash purse. That is how they used to do it in the early '90s.

Slainte:beer:

[Maelstrom]

You forgot beer and beautiful women ;) :D...

I would go with dirtbike. I like multi events. DS, DH and XC all in one big event. Crankworx is really successful and has almost everything (excluding xc) a downhiller/freerider could want. Industry tents, really fun and LONG dh, bikercross and a slopestyle area. Please the dj comps and street comps...its a fantastic event :)

[apclassic9]

Tried a DH last year - and, well, while a few folks had fun, the downhill we have just isn't big enough - the race is at a county park, not a ski resort! Was thinking about a race UP our downhill, though...

What about: bike polo? We have a pond jump on Saturday, but these last few years, turn-out has been low. (Pond Jump= start at the top of a hill on a bike with lots of foam padding - so it floats - and no brakes, go down the hill & off a ramp, eventually into the pond)

The race is a WV Mountain Bike Association sanctioned point sereis race, so we get between 100-140 racers for the XC, have a kid's race too.

[LowCel]

I don't really know what you could do to improve that race, everything was great this year. The prize table is the best of any race in the series, the food is great and everything seemed to go very smooth. I'll talk to some other riders / racers in the area and see if they have any opinions on it though.

Maybe get more salsa. ;)

[apclassic9]

I actually need more salsa!!

[myenzo]

An XC race with lots of going downhill, I love downhill, I just can't afford to do downhill racing.

[apclassic9]

:) Ft Collinss has WAY more grade to offer than central WV! We have to make do with our measley little mountains, so we replace the DH with roots, rocks, gnarly off camber single track, stream crossing, and mud... lots of mud! While the mountains here are not big, they do tend to repeat themselves - not much in the way of flat land around here, just up and down and up and down....