It’s been a long time in the making but we are delighted to announce the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup 2015 is ready to rock and entries are now live!

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The series has 4 rounds that will showcase Northern Irelands best riding locations to competitors that are up for the challenge. Vitus bikes and the crew at FirstTracksMTB.com have teamed up and the idea was simple – take the best locations, pick the best trails, put it all together in a way riders have the most fun (some call it enduro!) and call it the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup. Boom!

Each round consists of a lap anywhere from 25km – 40km that will take competitors approx 3-4hrs to complete. Within the lap are 5/6 timed stages that each last between 2-10mins and can be anything from natural singletrack to trail centre. The rider with the fastest overall combined stage times wins. The transitions are not timed so riders and chill and make their way to the next stage at their own pace.

Here’s what Vitus bikes brand manager Simon Cordner had to say:

“Vitus Bikes are delighted to sponsor the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup in 2015. It’s going to be an amazing series of racing – all of which takes place in the very testing grounds where we developed our latest Sommet and Escarpe MTB’s. We look forward to seeing you all on the trails!”

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The Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup is designed to be progressively more challenging both technically and physically throughout the season. So round one, although not aimed at total beginners should give riders a good taste to what’s coming. Here are some dates for your race calendar before you book next years holiday and realise what you are missing!

Round 1 – 28/29th March 2015- Castlewellan MTB trails

Round 2 – 9/10th May 2015 – Bigwood, Warrenpoint

Round 3 – 4/5th July 2015 – Rostrevor MTB trails

Round 4 – 19/20th September 2015 – venue TBC

Event organisers Glyn O’Brien and Catherine McCann of FirstTracksMTB.com had this to say:

“Like a good cuppa tea this has been brewing for a while. We have put a lot of thought and hard work into brainstorming this one. Without doubt I believe we have got the right ingredients to showcase to the world what mountain biking in Northern Ireland is all about. Not only do we have sweet trails to ride but we want to create a fun atmosphere to go with it and that won’t be hard knowing the local riding scene and all the personalities.” Glyn

“We’ve had great fun working with the guys at Chain Reaction Cycles over the past number of years, bringing you some superb events – but this one will set the bar even higher. More and more female riders are on the Enduro circuit now and we are hoping to have a good turn out for the girls as well! With a great line up of sponsors, awesome trails and surprises along the way, this is set to firmly place Northern Ireland on the map as a World-Class Enduro destination.” Catherine

As an incentive we are offering a 4 for 3 package until 31st December 2014 or until we sell 50 packages. Each round of the series is limited to 350 riders so our advice is to enter early, get out on your bike and start practicing! For more details and to enter please visit www.firsttracksmtb.com

For up-to-date info and your chance to win one of our many competitions please check out our social media pages. Currently we have a competition running for one lucky person to win a free entry to the full series!

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Facebook fans: www.facebook.com/VitusFirstTracksEnduroCup

Words & Photos: Glyn O’Brien


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