 Thanks to everyone who filled in the 2025 survey! We’ve read every comment (even the cheeky ones 😏), and here’s a rundown of your feedback—plus a few replies from us. Some comments have been grouped where they had a similar vibe. Buckle up… Is there anything you would like to see improved, added or changed for the 2026 Season? “No” - An easy one to kick things off—cheers for that! Kent is a long way…We know--it’s a hike from Norfolk, Suffolk, or anywhere north of Dartford. That said, it’s a cracking venue we only discovered last year, and we think it earns its spot in the League. Good news: only one Kent round in 2026, and we’re working on a Suffolk round to help balance things out.“Can we get some cheerleaders at the finish line?” - Isn’t Silly Hat Gary enough for you? More passing places please! - We make courses as wide as we can, but there’s only so much space at each venue. I’ll happily lend out my strimmer if anyone wants to help clear brambles. Twisted Oaks was brilliant! - Agreed! The trails had a great mix and were more technical than most, but logistically, it was a nightmare. Two separate start/finish areas meant manual timing for the U7/U9/U12s. The car park was a fair walk from the course, which made for less atmosphere, and we had barely any space for a finish straight. That said, we’re coming back in 2026, and we’re already talking to the venue to fix those issues. Expect it earlier in the season, too, as the ground drains well. Lap board - Races are run on time, so if you start your GPS, you should have a rough idea of how long is left. We have to decide on the fly, depending on lap times and course conditions, as to when to ring the bell for the final lap. Getting to races with kids is tough - 100% understand. The League started in SE Essex (Potash & Hadleigh), and we’re still growing outward. With many other local series gone, we’ve tried to offer something to those riders, too. We know younger riders often want to attend every round, and that’s hard. No easy fix, but we’re trying. Five races in a row! - We didn’t plan that. The second Bettshanger date had to be moved due to the availability of the venue, and that pushed us into a five-week block. Not ideal, but we’d rather run the race than cancel it. We’ll do better with spacing in 2026. Too much hanging around at Gallows Green - That venue came together at short notice, and ended up being brilliant! Massive thanks to Stuart at Flitch Bikes. The short course format needed time between races so slower riders could recover and the course could be cleared. Without the gap, it would’ve just been a single XC race with a long pause in the middle. Might return in 2026 or we might try something else. Training days? - There is already run women’s sessions on Saturdays before each Potash race (shoutout to Kevin). If there’s demand for other groups, we can explore it. Fast riders dominating a category? - Take a look at our race position and heatmap charts—we’re keeping an eye on it. If someone is consistently winning by a mile, they’re likely ready to move up. In most cases, the results sort themselves out. Event with Beastway? - Open to it! Always happy to talk to other organisers. Gridding by average points - This method works better in cyclocross. For a league like ours, gridding is based on your position in the overall standings, just like in the UCI and National Series. First race of the season = based on last year. After that, it’s your 2026 position.We try to avoid rewarding people who dip in and out over those who’ve committed to the series. Number board cost - Totally hear you. This was our first year running MTB East, and we had a lot of one-off costs—timing gear and batteries (over £1,000 just there). With 3+ races, the current system is still cheaper than many others.But! I’m working on a better system for 2026—probably a small MTB East membership fee per race, so those doing fewer events aren’t penalised with a big upfront cost. League points – too many races to count? - Actually, there’s no minimum--one race gives you a league placing. It’s just that the best 8 of 10 format gives you a chance to drop 2 (mechanical, holiday, off day, etc.).We set it up to encourage riders to try new venues, not just stick to Potash. We’ll review the number once we finalise the 2026 schedule. Gary in a tutu - You think he needs encouragement? Travers bikes stand at races - Honestly—who wouldn’t want to see a wall of titanium bling?! Hadleigh Olympic Course - We’ve run 12+ races there over the years, but sadly it’s not the venue it used to be. Hadleigh Park management doesn’t seem interested in MTB racing anymore, so we’re focusing elsewhere.Entry on the day (for fun race only?) - Tricky one—number boards have two RFID chips that need to be linked to the rider, added to the start list, uploaded to the timing system… it’s a faff and easy to mess up. That’s why we close entries on Wednesday night—to keep things running smoothly. Early bird entry discounts? - The current entry fee is already lower than similar-sized series. Offering discounts would mean raising late entry costs, which could put people off. We aim to keep things affordable for everyone from the start. Elite/S1 race at the end of the day - We’ve moved the schedule around over the years, but with more riders and more races, there’s only so much time in the day. We start early for U7/U9/U12, then run a packed programme with very little wiggle room. It’s not ideal for everyone, but it’s the best fit overall. More races at each venue? - Would be great! Right now, Potash is our base—strong attendance there helps fund the League and lets us support other venues. The more riders we attract elsewhere, the more we can expand. Night or endurance racing? - We’ve done a night race before (pre-chip timing). As you said, reading numbers was tough—but less so now! The issue is the schedule: even in spring, sunsets’s around 7:30 pm, which pushes races late into the night. Not sure I fancy asking the marshals to stay until midnight…That said, endurance racing is on my long-term to-do list! Big thanks again to everyone who contributed! Whether your feedback was practical, passionate, or purely tutu-related, we appreciate it all. Bring on 2026!
0 Comments
Quick note from your Chief Comms, Kevin.
MTB East Comm Been another fantastic series of events, and it’s been my pleasure to waffle on before each race, ensuring everyone starts slightly late 🤔 although my role as Chief Comm is a serious one, I do try to keep my ramblings light hearted as possible whilst conveying the rules and safety guidance. It’s quite difficult sometimes not to come across like I’m having a moan about the occasional incident or sounding like I’m going on stuff you have all heard before. I would like to say thank you for your attentiveness and your willingness to listen to my voice week after week. Competitor conduct has been excellent, with hardly any complaints about other competitors, and most abiding by the rules of racing and enjoying themselves. The kids' racing was particularly enjoyable for me, and although there were the odd tearful moments for them, they put a smile on everyone else’s face. If these youngsters are the future, there’s going to be some excellent banter on the start line and some great riders as a consequence. My favourite moments from the series, apart from the Beer Fairy placing beer in and around my van, were; Getting a new start flag and finding out on round 2 it was extendable. Hearing all the children joining in the pre-race briefing and asking about the extendable flag. The understanding from the competitors and their fan clubs when things get delayed. Above all, the thing I’ve enjoyed the most is seeing everyone. My race season didn’t go as planned, which happens sometimes, but things are looking better, so I might see some of you over the winter. If not, I’ll see you on the start line next year for more ramblings. In other news WRRS’26….possibly Kev chief comm  2025 MTB East League – Final Results & Reflections
All race results from this year’s league are now live: https://www.webscorer.com/84702?pg=results What a fantastic end to the 2025 MTB East League! We even managed to dodge the thunderstorms this year! A massive thank you to everyone who helped make the season such a success – from marshals, admin and timing teams, to course builders, new race organisers, and of course, every single rider who lined up on the start line. This series has truly grown into a close-knit community. A perfect example came during the U14 race yesterday – Hayden took a tumble right at the start, but marshals and medics were on it instantly. He was checked over and got back on his bike. The wall of cheering and encouragement that followed him around the course was incredible – it genuinely brought a smile to my face. He pushed on, finished 5th in the race, and sealed 3rd place overall – amazing grit and determination! Planning for the 2026 season is already underway! I’ve got a list of improvements and changes I’m working on, including a more flexible entry system to help spread the cost of league membership. Thank you to everyone who filled out the feedback survey – we’ve had over 50 responses so far. I’ll be putting together a summary of the most common suggestions and ideas to share with you soon. If you’re part of a club or would like to get involved as a race organiser in the 2026 league, drop us a message on Facebook or email: [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you! Here’s to more banter, and even better racing in 2026! — Michael U7, U9 and U12 riders, we have a special treat! MTB east stickers. They will be handed out after the U7, U9, and U12 Prize presentation.  Sneak peek at the 2025 trophies, I have just finished them! whoop Whoop! Not all positions on the podiums are decided yet, so all to race for on Sunday. Thanks to Hadleigh MTB Club for sponsoring them.  Here comes Part 2 of our statistical deep dive — now with colours! This one shows the same lap time data as before, but in a slightly more eye-friendly way. Think of it as a heatmap of how everyone’s legs were feeling. The darker the green, the faster the rider; the darker the red, the more “character building” that lap might have been. It’s genuinely interesting to see patterns appear — riders who started like they were being chased, then eased off a bit… others who found their rhythm lap by lap, or those whose lap times tell the story of a good day, a bad day, or maybe just one too many energy gels in the tech zone. Again, we’ve stuck to the first 4 laps of each race, since that’s the point where almost everyone was still out there giving it beans. No judgment, no podium shaming — just a fun way to look back on how the season unfolded, one lap at a time. Have a scroll — and see if your season paints a picture! The next two posts come with a health warning: may contain interesting stats! We’ve taken a deep dive into lap times for the Men’s Elite, S1, S2, and Fun categories. This first post shows how the first 4 laps of each race stack up — and ranks where your laps would place you if all riders had raced at the same time in one big, slightly chaotic, multi-category showdown. Now before anyone panics — don’t worry, this isn’t to name, shame, or trigger an existential crisis halfway through your post-ride cuppa. It’s purely for interest and to help you see where you sit in the mix — maybe even help decide which category might suit you best for 2026. Of course, we know things like training, illness, and real life (how dare it!) can impact results from season to season — so take it all as a helpful insight, not a final judgement. Stay tuned for the next post and remember: stats don’t judge, they just gently suggest. Key: Fun spread across all categories Elite Blue, S1 White, S2 Green Percentage assigned to each category: Elite: 26%, S1 34% S2 40% We haven't done it for any other category because there are fewer riders and thus less data to show any meaningful results. Survey The 2025 season hasn't finished yet, but planning for 2026 is already underway. If you have 5 minutes, can you fill out this short form on what you thought of the new venues, race days, etc.   Race day timings for round 10 of the MTB east League. It remains similar to normal, just with the addition of the U7/9/12 prize presentation at 10:30, all races are pushed back 30 mins, this gives us time to work out the final overall results and to allow riders to do a sighting lap before the presentation starts.
The U14/16 and Adult prize presentation and prize draw (open to everyone) will be done as soon as possible after the Male S1/Elite race has finished. Thanks to one of our great sponsors MT ZOOM Racing, they have sent us over some prizes for the draw at the final at Potash. Everyone who has raced, marshalled and helped will be entered.  |
MTB east
MTB east home for news, race information, dates, times and course updates. Archives
July 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed