Race Report | First Enduro Race – Singletracks Morella
Morella is one of the most beautiful villages of Spain. Its strategic location has made Morella the scene of many events, from prehistoric times to the nineteenth centuries and every time it was re-built with their history, their shape and identity. Today´s result is an amazing medieval city erected on a mountain, surrounded by almost 2 km of walls, crowned by an impregnable castle, under which various architectural gems are strung through alleys of medieval structure. Morella is therefore a huge open-air museum, but very unique museum, where every day and every night its nearly 3,000 residents are still living their lives.
Therefore, it is the Valencia region’s top coast destination, at 1,072 m. altitude and within an hour of the coast, Morella has become a major tourist destination. It supports an established tourist industry, offering a full and varied options to all kind of visitors. Within this range a key element is the cuisine based on tradition and in natural, high-quality local products.
When the traveler approaches Morella gets surprised suddenly and gets stocked by her beauty, and its shape drawn an amazing “sky line” a single outline, unmistakable. Maybe this is overlooked the enormous sea of mountains in which they are situated. The landscape of Morella is not one but many, displaying a surprising diversity, abruptly changing from dry stone terraced slopes to shady woods.
Morella Singletracks has all these elements for the best experiences of mountain bikers. Starts of the principle that mountain bike experience improves as the roads are narrower and take the singletrack as hallmark. In line with their ancestral identity such singletrack, far from having been built specifically for your cyclist use, all of them are the network of ancient roads, historic roads, linking the towns of the region and these with the various farmhouses scattered throughout the field.
With it as principal starring Morella Singletracks has built an extensive collection of routes, richly documented and puts all this information for free and access available to users, thanks to web www.morellasingletracks.com. The biker will find on the web a wide range of routes with complete technical specifications and information of interest, tracks are the protagonists. You’ll also find GPS tracks, essential as the Morella Singletracks project has chosen to support the guided routes in this technology, absolutely harmless to the environment. In addition, those sections of particular interest, the “Top Tracks” are treated separately, offering them an even more detailed and descriptive information.
Financial support is given by www.casesdemorella.es booking center, which, at the same price as any other channels gives you personalized advice and can find a wide range of accommodation in the region, from hotels to cottages.
Among the various activities that are planned to promote Singletracks Morella, the most important was the 1st Enduro Race Singletracks Morella, 1st Enduro Championship Valencia, held on October, 4th and 5th and the 1st Enduro Race Morella Singletrack, a mtb party !!
If anything characterizes Morella Singletracks events, it is the fun idea of mountain biking. So, the biggest event they have done to date is also has one of the the biggest party of mountain biking. Two full days, even three who wanted to take Friday as course inspection.
Saturday was scheduled to be one of the most interesting starts seen in a long time in Enduro racing: Urban DH! the 1st Enduro Race Singletrack Morella started with a special stage 2 km long which descended two hundred meters between the top Morella castle. They are starting down the dreaded stairway leading to the square of the castle, and after traveling all this massive fort, the bikers went deep into the Gothic cloister of San Francisco and traversed the same church! deconsecrated today.
Right after riders were introduced in the town of Morella from principal door of the cloister, the crowd enjoyed a great time with the enormous speed at which the riders descended the stairs countless alleys that fall from the castle to he bottom of Morella. Not just here the descent was over it went down at the foot of the wall which it sits between Forcall and San Mateo doors and keeps going extramural after getting the N-232 road. Jacobo Santana won with a time 4 ’27’ ‘, he also won a nice fixie bike donated by De Que Bikes; accompanied him on the podium José Antonio Díez Arriola (4 ’36’ ‘) and Rosmen Hernandez (also 4’ 36 ”).
Championship continued on Sunday from 8am. Race ran at 100% by the wide range of enduro mtb routes can be found in www.morellasingletracks.com website, specifically focusing on the area of Xiva-Torre Miró. This is just a small sample of all the possibilities of Singletracks Morella can offer, 36 km. long and about 1,300 m. accumulated slopes and conformed 4 special stages and corresponding links.
Cantabrian José Antonio Díez Arriola won by a very narrow margin to Valencian Jacobo Santana, the smallest ever which seems a Moto Gp qualifying , who eventually was crowned as first Enduro Mtb Valencia Champion. Accompanied them on the podium by Iván Diaz. José Diez Arriola, excited, dedicated his victory to his friend Francis Urquijo, who died recently, received the consolation and affection of the public and of its main rivals, revealing that elite national enduro prevail sportsmanship and respect for above the rivalry. Paz Hernandez got victorious, followed by Judith and Natalia Viana Gonzalez as Female classification.
98 Producciones and Morella Singletracks organizers of the total event showed complete satisfaction with the championship result Both and the main sponsor ,the City Hall of Morella, are evaluating already the possibility to re-host the event in 2015.
Words: Pablo Segura Photos: Morella Singletracks
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