The first downhill race to be held at the new North Wales venue, Nant Gwrtheyrn is fast approaching.

The dates are the 14th and 15th of August and here are a few reasons why it is going to be one of the best races this season:

• The Track – classic North Wales terrain, steep, rocky and rooty followed by some flat out man made stuff. Arron Gwin’s description from his recent visit was “Sick”.

• The uplift – Using the private tarmac uplift road Simply Downhill have been holding successful uplift days with next to no queuing.

• The venue – The track finishes in the car park of the Welsh Language centre. The venue is the only DH race track I know of with Bar, Cafe, B&B Accommodation at the finish! Great value, great food, great local beer (Purple Moose) & wifi connection. To top it off the beach is about a 5 minute walk away. Anyone wising to stay in the self catering accomadation needs to contact Lois at the centre on 01758 750 334 or [email protected]

• The Racing – With the great uplift allowing plenty of runs. There is racing planned both days. Practice in the morning followed by 2 timed runs in the afternoon. British Cycling ranking points available on both days!

• The sponsors – As well as a load of great support and prizes from the likes of Revolution Bikes, Howies, Leisure Lakes, Fenwicks, O’Neal, Purple Moose Brewery & Cambrian Tyres. O’Neal will be bringing a load of race kit that you can try out for free and Cambrian Tyres will be sorting out free Continental inner tubes for anyone unfortunate enough to puncture.

As a new venue we need to prove that racing is a worthwhile activity for the guys at Nant Gwrtheyrn to have at the centre. The only way we will do this is if we get a good turnout of riders to support the scene and fill up the bar and accommodation in the evening. Help get this fantastic venue off the ground by logging on to www.simplydownhill.co.uk to get your entry in.

You can also send a postal entry and the form can be downloaded here:

If you want to get involved with the future developments of this great new venue or just follow the progress you can join our facebook group for the latest news.

Thank you for everyone for your support so far, we just need you to get your race entries in ASAP so we can start paying for stuff! Big thanks to the guys at Nant Gwrtheyrn and all our volunteer helpers at the dig and uplift days. See you August 14th and 15th.

Photos by Huw Parry.