MALVERNS CLASSIC
The Malverns Classic roared back onto the UK calendar after 20 years away… but could it capture the spirit of old?
After 20 years away, the Malverns Classic roared back onto the UK calendar this year. But did it capture the fun-filled spirit of old?
Speak to anyone who’s been following mountain biking since its early days and they’ll likely mention the Malvern Hills Classic somewhere along the line. This was the UK event to be part of back in the 1990s, giving riders the chance to race their bikes in a chilled-out setting, get up close to their racing heroes and generally get drunk on an intoxicating mountain biking atmosphere (or was that just the cider?).
So there was definitely an air of excitement, hope and expectation in the build-up to this weekend’s revived GT Bicycles Malverns Classic, held in mid June at the original venue of Eastnor Deer Park, Ledbury. We camped out on-site for the weekend and, from everything we heard and saw, reckon it came pretty damn close to that original vibe. The racing kept us entertained all weekend – despite a few scheduling problems – with plenty of riders of all ages heading out on the cross-country and enduro courses, before the quad eliminator and downhill racing kicked in.
Away from the riding, the main arena offered plenty of classic Malverns entertainment – the highlight being the TRP Lake Ride on the Saturday evening (more on that later on), but the Lezyne (tyre) Exploder, Dirt Factory Air Bag Jump, Jez Avery Stunt Show, Muc-Off Pump Track and kids’ zone all meant there was always something to watch or take part in over the course of the weekend.
What was really great to see was the number of kids having an absolute hoot on their bikes in a safe environment. Loads of ‘old skool’ riders hung out on site with their families to show them how and why they’re so totally addicted to riding bikes.
But this wasn’t just a retro show. There were plenty of newbies, wanting to get their first taste of a mountain biking festival. Now they’ve sampled it, we’re pretty sure they’ll be back for a bigger and better feast next year, along with the rest of us.