Mark Duffus and the Different Types of Mountain Bike Racing

Although biking itself is a pretty tough task after a long while, mountain biking is something Mark Duffus finds his most strong point.
By: Representative of Mark Duffus
 
Dec. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Mark Duffus and the Different Types of Mountain Bike Racing

What is biking?

It can be a way to get from here to there, a hobby, or even a sport. For mark Duffus, biking is all of that and more. Although biking itself is a pretty tough task after a long while, mountain biking is something Mark Duffus finds his most strong point. Below, is listed some o the different types of mountain biking.

•   Cross-country - Cross-country (XCO) racing is held on a varied terrain circuit, it is normally around 6-8 kilometers (km) and is always a massed-start race. Under the controversial new 2006 UCI rules, elite, U23, and Junior Expert riders at UCI sanctioned races, are allowed technical assistance, but only in designated zones and only by an authorized team mechanic. However, riders in the same team can help each other at any point in the race. Under NORBA rules, no technical assistance is allowed. Professional level races are longer in distance, around 50 km.

•   Downhill - Downhill (DH) racing is a time trial event. Riders start at intervals that can vary from 30 seconds to three minutes-depending on the stage of the competition - and the rider with the lowest time wins. As the name of this discipline implies, DH races are held in steep, downhill terrain, resulting in higher speed than in cross-country racing. The terrain is also often somewhat rougher than in cross-country racing. The bike is specialized and has a long travel suspension and powerful disc brakes.

•   Freeride – A Favorite mountain biking style of Mark Duffus is freeride. Freeride (FR) competitions are not so much a race as they are a competition of skill. Courses contain varying cliffs, drops, obstacles, and ramps. There are usually a large number of ways in which to complete the course, and scoring is dependent on the competitor's choice of routes, the fluidity of riding and tricks performed (style), and sometimes also the time in which the course is completed.

•   Dual Slalom/Dual - Dual Slalom (DS) is a ski-inspired event which pits two riders against each other on two identical man-made tracks side-by-side with the same jumps and berms, with a rider on each track, and the first across the line wins. The contest has a knock-out format. Dual (DL) events are similar, only two riders share the same course/track. So dual is a contact sport.

•   Four cross - (4X, also known as 'mountain cross' or 'bikercross') inspired by the dual format and by BMX racing, this event pits four riders on the same course from starting gates to finish. There can only be one winner per event, so the races can quickly eliminate riders making the progression faster for a day's events. This is the reason it was chosen as the race-format to replace Dual-Slalom by the UCI at World Cup events. 4X also replaced Dual in the UCI World Cup series in 2002. There is a difference between 4x and mountain cross. The difference is that in 4x, riders are each given a run down the course which is timed and the top 50% of the field then progress to the elimination rounds. In mountain cross, riders are given 3 heats against 3 other riders and points are allocated for your position in each heat. once again, the top 50% progress to the elimination rounds. 4x is the format raced in world cup however mtnx, is the preferred format for amateur races.

•   Marathon - Marathon (XCM) is perhaps the toughest form of mountain biking because riders often have to cover more than 80 km in one race on mountaineous terrain. The distances usually vary from 60 km to 100 km. Races often exceed 100 km, but are then termed Ultra-Marathons. Recently UCI has inaugurated the Marathon World Cup. Basically it equals point-to-point (PP) discipline and that means that riders have a mass start from point "A" and they finish at point "B". Mark Duffus excels in marathons.

•   Stage Races - Stage Races consist of several races - 'stages' - ridden consecutively, usually over a period of several days. A stage is usually similar in length and structure to a Marathon mountain bike race. The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to complete all the stages is declared the overall, or General Classification (GC), winner. Stage races may also have other classifications and awards, such as individual stage winners.

•   Bike trials - Slow negotiation of man-made and natural obstacles where setting a foot down constitutes a penalty.

•   Dirt jumping – mark Duffus thinks that if you are looking for biking on a more fun side, dirt jumping is the way to go. Dirt jumping (DJ), similar to freeride, it is a competition of skill, differing that it involves the rider to jump off mounds of dirt to perform the best tricks with the best style. It differs to freeriding that the jumps are usually much larger and designed to lift the rider higher into the air and the bicycle is different to its counterpart.

•   Mountain bike orienteering (MTB-O or MTBO) is an orienteering sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. The major focus becomes route choice while navigating at bike speed. Special equipment used is a map holder attached to the handlebar of the bike.

The sport is governed by International Orienteering Federation.
If you are thinking about joining a mountain biking event, Mark Duffus recommends you do so as soon as the season starts. You definitely will not regret it.

Resources: www.wikipedia.org

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About Mark Duffus: A well respected, determined, successful man. All the things that make Mark Duffus the good person that he is today.
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