New for 2012 in October ! |
Your Choice, Your Challenge! |
The Massif Cantalien offers tremendous terrain and the Oxygen Challenge proposes 6 MTB Cross-Country events between the 2 and 5 June 2011.
Compose your A la Carte Challenges by choosing those events you feel at home in!
| Thursday 2 June | Friday 3 June | Saturday 4 June | Sunday 5 June | |
 |
PROLOGUE  Loop 3,3km |
86 km MTB Marathon |
25 km CROSS-COUNTRY |
MTB ENDURANCE 34km - 4 specials |
| 54 km CROSS-COUNTRY |
DH MARATHON New! 2 rounds - 1100m D- |
: Event counting for the Oxygen Series
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Thursday 2 June 2011
| MTB Prologue |  |
The “warm-up” to the Oxygen Challenge in mountain-biking, this prologue involves tackling a 2.9-km loop, equipped with a GPS supplied by our partner Garmin, around the heart of the Lioran ski resort. Explosive speed is not enough, only a careful management of your effort will lead to success. It is an ideal opportunity to get your bearings on the terrain of the Cantal and test the power of your “engine”!
NEW FOR 2011: A final will be organized in the afternoon for the best times (2 laps in mass start)
Friday 3 June 2011
54-km Cross-Country
After an uphill start in which competitors jostle for place, you will get to grips with an initial fairly fast downhill section, with some single-tracks on the menu. The next part will be more physically demanding, but, by climbing uphill, will offer you the opportunity to admire the superb landscapes of the Cantal. There are no real technical difficulties, but with a significant uphill gradient and considerable distance, this route is reserved for regular mountain-bikers.
86-km MTB Marathon
The leading event of the Merrell Oxygen Challenge for mountain bikers, this 84-km route will take you through some of the finest spots of the Cantal Mountains, at the heart of Europe’s biggest volcano.
The first 49 kilometres are identical to the 54-km cross-country race. After this “warm-up” the participants will get to grips with an additional loop that leads them to the fantastic tracks along the range’s mountain ridges. They will start with the Voie Romaine, a long, technical but fun descent, before tackling the last difficulty of the day and returning to the resort. This intensive race is reserved for very well trained competitors who can handle the length of this marathon, significant differences in gradient and highly technical difficulties of the last 37 km.
NEW FOR 2011:
- Last 20km are new
- The route has been substantially changed for better riding and to limit the amount of carrying, especially towards the end.
Saturday 4 June 2011
25-km Cross-Country
A new distance for your 1st mountain challenge!
The initial part of the circuit, with a mainly downhill profile, will allow you to warm-up. After a long ride through pasture land, you will then have to tackle an imposing slope, followed by a cliff-top track with an unbeatable view of the Cère valley. You will then return to the resort via fairly quick tracks, especially in the last 5 km. This route does not boast any major technical difficulties and is accessible to all mountain-bikers.
Downhill Marathon New for 2011
New event in the MTB program, it will be a great race for 250 downhill fans. It will be organized in 2 rounds with a final in the afternoon for the best times.
A special equipment will be necessary to take part at this race.
Sunday 5 June 2011
Endurance MTB
There are no more places available for the Endurance MTB. The 450 places are now allocated.
Last places are booked for:
- people who want to take part to the Oxygen Series MTB, in this case please contact us at +33 1 41 33 46 78
- people registered at the Vélo Vert Festival (100 registration max)
This 33 km route, new on more than 20% is sporty and fun, alternating between timed special sections where competitors can test and compare their performances, and fun and friendly non-timed sections. The aim of the game is to manage your effort and be the quickest over each special section! This endurance race is accessible to all mountain-bikers, especially those from the Cross-Country discipline. It includes undulating special sections, with mainly downhill profiles, on quite a wide variety of terrains (mountain ridges, woods, etc.).
450 registrations max
NEW FOR 2011:
- A new route on more than 20%
- New longer specials
The Oxygen Challenge offers Mountain Bikers the chance to take up the A la Carte Challenges. But for the most seasoned among you, we’ve devised the Oxygen Series!
The concept is simple: complete 3 events of different formats over 3 days. Are you ready to take on the Big Challenge?
Your enrolment for the Oxygen Series will be validated when you are registered for each of the 3 events.
Each individual participating in the Oxygen Series will receive an additional gift.
In 2011, the Oxygen Challenge will be proposing 12 events (6 in Trail Running and 6 in MTB) intended for a wide range of competitors...
The Massif Cantalien provides the ideal backdrop for the 6 Trail Running events of the Oxygen Challenge.
Recognised as being Europe’s largest Volcano, the Massif Cantalien offers a superb "recreational terrain" for nature sports enthusiasts
