Day and night enduro stage racing for riders aged 6 to Grand Vet at Callendar Estate, Falkirk on Saturday November 25th.

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The annual Falkirk Funduro mountain bike event returns to the Central Belt on Saturday 25 November 2017. The family friendly races are being staged for a third consecutive year on the ever-expanding network of trails there.

Pic: Ian Potter

Mini Funduro

With all of the planned events firmly focused on having fun, the Falkirk Funduro will feature mountain bike racing for every age bracket.

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Riders aged 6 to 11 can get their kicks in the ‘Mini Funduro’, a multi-stage race that goes a bit further afield and features timed forest stages (mostly downhill) on flowing green and blue graded trails.

Pic: Ian Potter

Toddler specialists Trail Tots will kick off the day with balance bike and pedal bike races and coaching for under 6s in the bike park within the event village.

Pic: Ian Potter

Funduro

The main Funduro starts early afternoon and is open to riders aged 12 and over. Riders have to tackle four timed stages on the estate’s more technical trails, with the option for riders to race after dark if they want to increase the challenge.

Pic: Ian Potter

Night racing is fairly uncommon in mountain biking and almost exclusively limited to gruelling 24hr endurance races, so the Falkirk Funduro offers a rare opportunity for riders to familiarise themselves with the trails in daylight before strapping on the lights.

muckmedden.co.uk/our-events/falkirk-funduro

Aaron Gray of Falkirk Funduro organisers Muckmedden Events, said: “Falkirk Funduro just gets better every year! I think the riders love it due to the sheer variety of races for every age combined with the easy-going nature of the trails. The kids just love the Mini Funduro as they’re only timed on the good bits and they can take their Mum or Dad along for support; even carrying a big bag of sweets to keep them going! It’s great for boosting confidence in both the child and the parent.

“There can be a bit of hanging around between all the races, but we just light up the bonfire and the Swedish candles and everyone just hangs out and stays cosy, or watches the other races until it’s their turn. It’s all very sociable. The atmosphere at the gap jumps last year was incredible, especially after dark. I can’t wait to see more of that this year!”

Pic: Ian Potter

Falkirk Funduro makes for a decent spectator event too as the course is compact enough to allow family and friends to access course sections within minutes of the event village, including the new ‘Jack’s Track’ black trail. Here they can cheer/heckle the riders as they negotiate the spectacular new gap jump section.

Pic: Ian Potter

As is now tradition at Muckmedden Events, a ‘Muckmaiden’ Women’s Coaching Day and Night Ride will be held prior to the main event on Saturday 11 November 2017, to give female riders a chance to pre-ride the race stages with other female riders or have professional skills coaching in a female-specific environment.