THE 15th End 2 End Mountain Bike Challenge took place in the Isle of Man in September.

 
Around 1,700 competitors took part in the 42 mile event which was first run in 1996.

The route incorporates 1,500 metres of climbing with a mixture of fast fire roads, sweeping moorland paths, country lanes and forest single-track.

The course is usually completed within three hours for the leaders and anything up to six hours for the more relaxed riders.

This year's race saw a few alterations to improve the event including a staggered start with 100 of the top riders beginning the race before the main pack of 1,600.

There was also a slight change in the route with the riders being diverted along the Ballacrye Road in Ballaugh to avoid the congestion which has blocked Ballaugh village in recent years.

Nick Craig won the mountain bike challenge for the fourth time in succession once again beating the three hour barrier.

The ex-Olympic cyclist again held off a strong challenge to claim victory by a comfortable margin of more than eight minutes from Neal Crampton from Pudsey, with Matt Clinton of Balsall a close third, just 12 seconds behind.

Isle of Man rider Elliot Baxter was fourth overall almost a minute down. Another local rider, Lloyd Taggart, finished fifth and Rob Sorby was seventh.

The women's race saw an Isle of Man victory and was won by Jacqui Fletcher.

The results, compiled by Manx Timing Solutions, showed that a total of 1228 riders completed the full distance with 15 junior riders finishing the half course to St John's.

Update: Organisers of the End2End challenge announced that they may look at the event becoming a "festival" in future years. For more on this click here.

This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.