The 11 season of the International KMC MTB Bundesliga starts on May 2014th. At the marathon, host Shark Attack Saalhausen expects a record participation.
For the third edition of the German Sprint Championships, those responsible in Saalhausen have modified the course at the Saalhausen sports field. Since the entire site is being remodeled, the start-finish straight has been relocated and lengthened by 80 meters. This makes an exciting sprint finish possible.
"The course of the Pontax Sprint now leads around behind the school and then over a raised wall", explains head of organization Thorsten Kathol.
The longer home stretch is also built into the cross-country course. With a view to the German championship in 2015, the track was given even more "facelifting". A long stretch of forest road was shortened by 80 percent. Instead, it's now a smooth single trail that leads to the well-known Sparkasse downhill.
A new, steep uphill was also installed. "That's something for real climbing artists like Wolfram Kurschat", believes Thorsten Kathol. “The changes have paid off. That will be fun for the drivers.”
The well-established marathon also runs as part of the supporting program of the Saalhausen Bike Festival. He is heading for a registration record. More than 800 names were on the entry list two weeks before the event. "That's a record at this point in time. If everything goes well, we will have a good 1000 participants. More is not possible for us organizationally", says Catholic.
In addition to the Nutrixxion Marathon Trophy, Shark Attack Saalhausen also organizes the state association championships of North Rhine-Westphalia and the open Dutch championships within this race.
Also in the supporting program are the kids' races of the ARAG student cup.
The registration deadline for the sprint championships ends on Saturday and it looks as if there will be a large qualifying field in the sprint. The defending champions are Simon Gegenheimer and Veronika Brüchle. The registration period for the KMC MTB Bundesliga on Sunday, May 11th ends on April 26th. In contrast to the DM, you can register here later. Among others, sprint world champion Alexandra Engen and three-time Olympic medalist Sabine Spitz, as well as runner-up world champion Manuel Fumic, have announced their start.
For further information, please visit www.mtb-sharkattack.net