Cross Country National Champis

Crow Hill, New Forest 19th & 20th July

For the first time the Cross Country National Championships will be held in the New Forest, which a few years ago gained National Park Status. The New Forest is situated on the South coast of England between the city of Southampton and the town of Poole close to the sandy beaches of Bournemouth. The New Forest has 93,000 acres of woodland and open common-land brimming with wildlife.

The New Forest is the largest un-enclosed area in Southern England; ponies, donkeys, cattle, pigs and deer, to name a few, roam freely including on the roads so please observe the Forest 40mph speed limit. The New Forest although not known for huge hills is quite rolling in places and parts are surprisingly high. The landscape is a mix of heathland, grassland, bogs and woods. The ground is generally dry and sandy in most places and boggy in others with numerous small streams. All these features are evident on a smaller scale on the Crow Hill National Championship course.

Promoting Team (SMBC)
The organising team have many years of promotions behind them between us it must be over 50 years experience, I have been doing this for 15 years myself. We are basically the dedicated long service boys of the old Ratz crew that have been behind numerous NPS, SAMS & Southerns at Checkendon and more recently Mapledurham.

The Championship Course
For those that have ridden the Southern rounds the Nationals course will be familiar but expect some changes. The course will be running mostly in the opposite direction. To make best use of the central arena the course will cross the arena twice mid lap in a clover leaf style course. With a new loop up the hill across the motocross track with a central loop in the woods splitting the main wood into two sections. This will add a couple of hills, break up the single-track sections and separate the hills. This will also make for exciting spectator spots in the central arena. With two tough little climbs into the arena mid lap and another at the finish it’s going to be exciting watching all the Championship titles evolve.

Camping
There is a large camping field which will be available for Friday and Saturday night at £5 per pitch. No need to pre-book just pitch up and we will come round and collect the fees. This is adjacent to the main arena and the course runs right past one side. We will have flushing toilets on site and extra portaloos and heated showers from Friday.

Arena
Any teams wanting to pre-book space in the main arena or traders wishing to have pitch should also contact steve@ratmbc.co.uk for details and fees. Jackets café will be on site providing the catering and will be there from Saturday to keep you stoked up.

New Forest Rides
If you fancy exploring the forest you can get some cycling routes from: www.newforestcyclehire.co.uk/

Directions
Postcode BH24 3DB.

Website
www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/national_xc.html