Sea Otter Europe unveils the line-up of sports events for 2018, with a two-stage cycle tour and a new UCI category for the main MTB race, among other new additions
The registration period for the events will begin in the next few days
Today marked the presentation of the line-up of sports events for the 2018 Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava-Girona Bike Show, which will take place in Girona from 8-10 June and has added a host of new features with respect to last year. To start with, the Sport No Limit Travel International Cycle Tour by Ghost, which last year drew just south of 1,500 cyclists, will take place over two stages and with different routes. That way, anyone interested in doing so may take to the starting line twice, each time with the choice of two distances: Saturday, with 100 and 150km tracks, and Sunday, with 80 and 130 km routes, all of which start and end in Girona.
Something else new this year is the increase in category of the Catalan Cup International Massi Biking Point, which in Girona will boast a class 1 ranking according to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The race will be run over two days (the women’s event on Saturday and the men’s on Sunday) and will once again bring the finest cyclists on the international circuit to Girona, in an event that forms part of the prestigious MTB Super Cup, along with other top tier international events such as those held in Banyoles, Barcelona and Andorra.
Show time is guaranteed with the arrival of a new competition, the Short Track, an explosive discipline held, as the name suggests, on a short track that enables spectators to see how the racers are faring at all times.
The format of the Pirinexus 360 Challenge will also be revamped. As a result, in addition to the gruelling non-stop 350km route, the event also offers a route with half the kilometres, which may be completed in half a day and will give participants the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the activities and commercial zone on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday will also see another of the main mountain biking events, the Scott MTB Marathon by Tamory, which this year is a fixture on the 2018 Marathon Cup calendar. This race will once again give spectators the chance to see world champions and top-level athletes, such as those who entered the competition last year. Just like in the first edition, a non-competitive version of this event will also be run, and is open to all MTB enthusiasts.
To round off the luxury line-up of mountain biking events, Saturday is also the day of the E-MTB Marathon, an electric bike race that offers two tracks with different distances, and the second edition of the amiable XCO Classic, which features bikes dating from before 1990, and in the first edition was successful in creating a much appreciated climate of nostalgia among the participants.
Once again, one of the festival’s most spectacular exhibitions will be the Trial competition, in which some of the world’s finest balancers will take part. Last year, the event brought hundreds of spectators to the track set up on the esplanade outside Girona’s Fontajau Pavilion.
Exhibitions and adrenaline
In addition to competitions, the line-up also includes spectacular exhibitions. One of this year’s new events is the Dirt Jump, which will be held outside the pavilion on a track fitted with a down ramp and large jumps. Once again there will also be a Gravity zone, home of the spectacular Eliminator event.
The line-up of sporting activities at Sea Otter Europe 2018 accommodates a comprehensive and diverse array of events, in which there is a discipline for everyone, whether you are a world champion cyclist or simply a biking enthusiast.
Aside from the main additions, the festival has also scheduled a series of events for children, the primary aim of which is to motivate them to learn skills and help them enjoy mountain and road cycling. Most notable in this regard is the Children’s MTB Open, a race for kids from the youngest categories, which will earn them participation points in the Catalan Cycling Federation’s 2018 Open Championship. There is also a non-competitive version of this event, for kids who have just started mountain biking.
Once again, one of the objectives of the Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava-Girona Bike Show is to make cycling accessible to all lovers of this sport. To do so, it will also offer fun rides that are ideal for families and groups of friends. The registration period for the events will begin in the next few days.
More information at www.seaottereurope.com
10 November 2017