7-time world champ Jason English to contest MTB 24-hour championship in Armidale

The event will be held at the University of New England on the weekend of November 4, 2023.

Jason English, a teacher from Newcastle, originally from Gloucester, who has competed in and won several world mountain bike and endurance events, says there is going to be a lot of tough local competition to contend with in Armidale.

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"You have Alwyn Miller who I reakon has been training pretty hard for this event, I raced with him last weekend, he's up at Inverell and will probably be the local favourite for sure.

"Jon Odams is the current national champion, he is probably one of the favourites, he is from the Wollongong area and would be in the top three. He is currently sponsored by the Australian Giant team and Shimano also."

Jason says he is also expecting a few 'wildcard' competitors to turn up at Armidale who might not have had the chance to compete on the international stage as yet.

"There will be a few riders out there who may not normally compete in the 24-hour who may be thinking, I might just give this a crack, sounds like a good chance to win a world event."

24-hour endurance mountain bike riding is not for the faint of heart. Tracks may typically stretch out to 10 or 12 kilometers with varied degrees of difficulty and slope. The idea is to ride as many laps as possible in a 24-hour window, there's no sleep and no time for rest.

"To be competitive in this sport, you have to make your transitions fast, so you're basically grabbing food and hydrating on the go as you ride past," says Jason.

"You have to find different strategies and know what works best for you.

"Some riders will charge off during the night and try to get a bit of a head start and hold it, other riders make it super easy until the last 4 or 5 hours and see what they've got left. The race doesn't really start until the second day you know, the last 4 or 5 hours."

The Armidale event is a standalone world championship event. The prize for winning is an automatic entry in the next world championship event and the flights to get there, an enticing carrot in a competitive world sport where sponsorships can be difficult to come by.

"This is a big event for me in Armidale, if I can do well, it will make my path into the international world championship events that much clearer" says Jason.

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