2017 British Cycling MTB Downhill Series schedule confirmed

British Cycling is pleased to confirm the dates and venues for the 2017 British Cycling MTB Downhill Series. The 2017 series will comprise of six rounds and will be co-ordinated by British Cycling in partnership with the tried and trusted safe hands of the BDS Team.

The series begins at the historic and beautiful Nant Gwrtheyrn on the North Wales coastline, at the start of April with the venue featuring a brand new steep and technical course exclusively for the BDS.

The second round then heads to Fort William in Scotland in May and will be a prestigious UCI Classe 1 event and over £5k in prize money. With the UCI MTB Downhill World Cup taking place at the same venue three weeks later the best riders in the World are expected to fly in, in preparation for the UCi World Cup.

From there the series moves to Rhyd-Y-Felin in June on a newly revised track with multiple and varied features, making this event and venue one of the highlights of the BDS race calendar.

The legendary Farmer Jac's Moelfre follows at the end of July, an event which will also host the coveted British Cycling MTB Four Cross National Championships which will take place on Saturday night.

The fifth round dips back into Wales for the penultimate event in Llangollen with competitors tackling what is widely recognised as the steepest and most technical downhill race course in the UK with rumours of the full woods track being used top to bottom.

The series winners will be crowned at the final event of the season in the middle weekend of September as the BDS makes a welcomed return to racing in England at Hopton in Shropshire.

Si Paton, Event Director, said: "On behalf of the British Downhill Series Team we are both delighted and honoured to be entrusted with delivering British Cycling's MTB Downhill Series.

"British downhill racing is at a pivotal moment and with the vision and support of British Cycling we can now embark on the implementation of our strategic goals for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

"I would like to highlight the work done by the British Downhill Series team and marshals that will deliver this vision. Their commitment, hard work and unwavering attention to detail allows us to safely deliver these fantastic events come rain or shine. The above can only be delivered with the full support of our industry leading sponsors, our eternal gratitude goes out to them "

2017 British Cycling MTB Downhill Series dates:

Round 1: 1st and 2nd of April at Nant Gwrtheyrn, Wales.

Round 2: 13th and 14th of May at Fort William, Scotland.

Round 3: 17th and 18th of June at Rhyd-Y-Felin, Wales.

Round 4: 29th and 30th of July at Moelfre, Wales.

Round 5: 19th and 20th of August at Llangollen, Wales.

Round 6: 16th and 17th of September at Hopton, England.

We can also confirm full factory race support for all riders from Shimano, Hope Technology, Crankbrothers and Sprung Suspension.

Online entries are now open for all Expert and Elite athletes. All other categories open on January 1st 2017. For further information on the series and to enter, please click HERE.