You will have to move fast to enter this year’s Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge which takes place on Sunday September 11. The entry deadline is midnight this Sunday [August 28th], and all entries must be made at www.end2end.im – however, the event is limited to a maximum of 1,700 riders so may closer sooner if this figure is reached before August 28th.

The ‘End2End’ is one of the Island’s biggest and most popular mass participation sports events, but it’s also regarded as one of the best single day mountain bike races in Europe and attracts many riders from overseas. The 2014 and 2015 winner, Ben Thomas, was full of praise for the event after last year’s race. Ben, who rides for the Mountain Trax/Vauxhall team, races all around the world and described the Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge as an ‘awesome’ race and better than some World Cup events. Ben has entered again this year and is expected to line-up on the start line against other elite riders, and behind them the majority of the field who will just be aiming to complete the challenging course. If you don’t feel up to doing the full 46-mile course from the Point of Ayre to Port Erin, you can opt to ride the half-distance event which starts in St John’s and finishes in Port Erin. The half-distance event is almost all off-road with only a short section of Tarmac – so riders get to do all the best bits of the route, but in half the time!

It costs ?40 to enter the full End2End Challenge, and ?30 for adults or juniors entering the half-distance Challenge. The entry fee is ?15 for riders aged between 14 and 17. As a thank you from the race’s title sponsor there’s a ?5 discount on the entry fee for all Manx Telecom mobile customers. There’s also a Relay Team Challenge for teams of four riders which costs ?100 per team.

The End2End began in 1996, so this year is its 20th anniversary. The race covers roads, tracks and trails and begins with a staggered start to help prevent bottlenecks on narrow sections of the course. There will be four groups setting off from the Point of Ayre at five minute intervals. The elite group of 200 riders will start first at 9.30am, followed by 200 more five minutes later, another 200 after a further five minutes, and the rest of the field 15 minutes after the elite start. Riders will be seeded according to their previous times in the End2End and by other relevant competitive results. Riders will be asked to submit details if they want results other than recent End2End performances to be considered. All riders will be issued with colour-coded race numbers to indicate which group they will start in. The half-distance race starts in St John’s at 11.45 am. Riders for this event should be arrive in St John’s no later than 11.30am.

Manx Telecom became title sponsor in 2013 as part of a three year deal, and this was recently extended until 2017. The support which the company provides is not only financial, it’s also in the form of technical and marketing expertise which helps the organisers to grow the event.

Image: Ben Thomas on his way to victory in the 2015 Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge. Photo by John Sweetman.