British Cycling have opened the tender process for the 2018 British national downhill series after Si Paton wrapped up his own British Downhill Series at Hopton.

The BDS was the premier national series in mountain biking and frequently attracted the Elite teams and World Champions to some of Britain’s toughest tracks. Unfortunately though, Si had to call time on organising the series as it was simply no longer financially viable.

This means the national series has now been opened up to anyone to apply for through British Cycling. The most important line of the release for us was: “Organisers are being sought to host a round – or rounds – of the UK’s premier downhill series.” One person could host the entire series or a consortium of organisers could come together to host one round each – similar to how the EWS operates.

We can definitely imagine the likes of (for example) Pearce, the SDA, Borderline, MIJ and Naked Racing all hosting a round around the UK. It would be a great way to get elite riders to smaller races and we’ve no doubt the organisers themselves would appreciate the cash boost.

For further information and an application form, email [email protected].

The closing date for submission of applications is 12pm on Friday 6 October 2017.