While roadies and cross country mountain bikers have had numerous choices of races to participate in over the first quarter of the year, life has not been so competitive for riders of the dustier disciplines. But with the recent announcements of race schedules of the Thailand Gravity Series and the Thailand Enduro Series, 2016 suddenly became purposeful.
A downhill track at Khao Hin Lek Fai in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan.
To be held for the third consecutive year by Mojo bike shop, the Thailand Gravity Series (TGS) is a downhill mountain bike competition in which each DH racer storms from the trailhead on the hilltop to the end of the trail at the foothill. Whoever is the fastest in each category, which is defined by riders’ age group, wins.
This year the TGS will consist of five events as follows:
– Round 1: August 6-7, in Suphan Buri
– Round 2: September 17-18, in Saraburi
– Round 3: October 15-16, in Phuket
– Round 4: November 12-13, venue not yet decided
– Round 5: December 17-18, in Prachuap Khiri Khan
That’s one race for each of the year’s last five months.
Now let’s take a look at the Thailand Enduro Series (TES).
Like the TGS, the enduro event debuted in 2014. However, last year it was not held so this year’s series is the second. Like in DH races, enduro riders are timed to see who are the fastest going down the hill. But the differences are that in an enduro race the winner of each category is decided from not just one single run but a number of rides on different trails, and that, unlike DH riders who are shuttled to the starting point, enduro racers are required to always ride their way uphill to the trailhead within a limited time.
For the second TES, Tank Store, the organiser, has planned four events:
– Round 1: June 4-5, in Prachin Buri
– Round 2: August 20-21, Sara Buri
– Round 3: October 1-2, Prachuap Khiri Khan
– Round 4: January 20-22, 2017, in Chiang Mai
Yes, that means the race season starts roughly just six weeks from now. If you are keen to attend all events of the two series, the second half of the year will be pretty busy, especially August and October when both the TGS and the TES competitions take place in the same months, but at different venues.
The registration fee of the TGS is 500 baht per round, while that of the TES is 2,000 baht. For details and inquiries, check out the “Thailand Gravity Series” and “Thailand Enduro Series” Facebook pages.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.