Kielder Chiller 24 returns for 2018

The brutal 24 hour deep winter mountain bike race returns again for 2018 and will once more be held at Kielder Castle on 10th and 11th February 2018.

This was meant to be a one-off event - after all, who in their right mind would come to Kielder in the middle of winter to “enjoy” 24hrs of racing, 17 of of them under Britain’s darkest skies?

Yet, here we are again. Kielder is huge. It’s exposed. It can be warm one minute, then covered in snow the next. With miles upon miles of terrain which ranges from fire road to single track, the Kielder Chiller 24 must surely rank as one of the toughest, but most rewarding mountain bike events on the calendar.

With entries available for the lunati..- sorry, hardcore, solo entries, the slightly less mad pairs and the positively social quads, the Chiller is exactly what you make of it.

Based at Kielder Castle, the Chiller follows the usual 24hr mountain bike race format, starting at 11am and finishing at 11am the next day.  The cafe within the castle is open 8am until 8pm and in it you can find soup, coffee and a super cozy fire.

Every team will be allowed one vehicle out on the course.  As long as you don't block the track you can then have a lovely tent and what ever communal setups float your boat - tents, vans, yurts - the world is your Oyster!  For the Friday night prior to the event some hard standing will be made available at the local campsite but remember this will be largely self sufficient as water may actually be frozen!

If you’re going to be at the sharp end of racing challenging the likes of last years winner and endurance legend, Richard Rothwell, you’ll be comforted (or disturbed) by the fact that our timing is supplied the incredible team at Sport Ident - suppliers of the EWS series and countless other world class events.

It’s certainly not an event for the faint of heart - last year, our first year, was particularly exciting with warm temps to start (hovering around zero), followed by hail, rain and some pretty cold temps - but, this is Kielder in remote Northumberland, so what can we expect?  Many of last years entrants have signed up again - this is certainly one of “those” events - slightly addictive.

If you’re looking to complete an event where you’ll no doubt create stories you’ll want to tell the grand children in 20 years time, then this might just be for you.

You can enter online by following this link: https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=3916

You can follow the Kielder Chiller event page here -  https://www.facebook.com/KielderChiller24/