There’s still time to enter the 2014 Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge. With nearly 1,200 signed-up already, organisers are urging anyone who wants to take part in the race on September 7 to register as soon as possible as entries are limited to a maximum of 1,700. Although the closing date isn’t until August 23 they are expecting the race to be full long before then.
The Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge is a 46-mile race from the Point of Ayre to Cregneash. You can sign up at www.manxe2e.org - the entry fee is just ?45 per rider and includes a commemorative tee-shirt. Entry plus transport (from Douglas to the start and from the finish back to Douglas) costs ?58. Manx Telecom mobile customers will receive a ?5 discount off their entry fee.
The race will also feature a Corporate Sponsored Relay event for teams of four (riders don’t need to work for the same company). The first rider will cycle from the Point of Ayre to Brandywell where they hand over to the second rider who will cycle to St Johns. The third relay checkpoint is at Eary Cushlin with the last rider in each relay team riding from there to the finish in Cregneash. The winners will be the team with fastest combined time for all four riders. There will also be a Corporate Team competition with four riders in each team each covering the full race distance. The winners will be the team with fastest combined time for all four riders. Entry fees for both corporate competitions is ?350 per team and includes entry fees, food, transport from Douglas to the start at the Point of Ayre, and transport from the finish in Cregneash back to Douglas. All profits from the event go towards the End2End Legacy Project which is creating a community forest park in Archallagan Plantation which will include a dedicated junior race course, graded mountain bike trails for various abilities, and play areas.
The 2013 Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge was won by Matt Clinton from the West Midlands, with Manx riders Ed Perry and Elliot Baxter in second and third respectively. Manx Telecom became title sponsor for the End2End in 2013 as part of a three-year deal. The race began in 1996 and is now one of the Island’s most popular mass participation sporting and community events with many riders coming from overseas to take part.
