The 11th edition of the Genghis Khan MTB Adventure will undergo a bit of a facelift as all three stages will benefit from a partial to substantial new course design. The total distance increases to 215 km and the longest 103 km stage takes place on Friday as Stage 1.
New sections of grassland will please those who have been coming to our event for several years. As tourism development has settled in in Xiwuqi, we went searching for more adventurous and proper grassland trails for what used to be the traditional stage 1 especially. That course of 63 km had been virtually unaltered for ten years, yet now we felt compelled to make changes. In fact, the stage to the horse statues becomes stage 3 in this year’s event and measures 70 km in length. There’s a few hills to be conquered on the new course, but nothing excessive. For those keen to take pictures during the ride, the first drinking station has been moved to the site of the horse statue. The race cut off time is 15:00, allowing all participants to catch the Beijing bus at 16:00, should they wish to do so (book in advance!).
Stage 2 remains stage 2. The distance is still 43 km, but also here some new sections will make the course more interesting and more technical as well. Some of the trails are less obvious and less smooth, and should it be wet could be a bit muddy also. Finish is again at the Mongolian Yurt City. The finish location here is a bit narrow and on grassland rather than on road. Be careful if you feel the need to sprint against your competitors! Unfortunately, we are currently not in a position to move the finish location to a more convenient spot. Again, the location is not a problem as long as nobody does silly manoevres in a group sprint.
Finally, the longest 100 km stage becomes 103 km AND moves from Sunday to Friday, and as such becomes the opener of the Genghis Khan Festival. The race will start at 10 a.m. and the course makes the traditional wide loop around the town of Xiwuqi, but will venture into new and surprising territory.
