After months of deliberation, date changes and venue alterations, cross country racing is back in the North East. We have designed the series around a single message - Fun for everyone!

Whether a seasoned pro or a XC first timer, the Nutcracker offers a fantastic series of races focused on fun and friendly competition.

Classed as a British Cycling Regional A event and also a “Go-MTB” event, the Nutcracker is a British Cycling National Points qualifier (if that's your thing). We welcome all abilities of rider from youth (under 16's) right through to those who should know better!

Camp Hill (course 1), Bedale, North Yorkshire - Sunday 4th April (easter Sunday) – Home to Aerial Extreme and one of the North's finest management training centres. 10 mins from the A1, full facilities on site. brand new custom designed course, suitable for all levels of rider. Especially suits fast racers. more

Aske Estate, Richmond, North Yorkshire - Sunday 23rd May – Home to ITV's Krypton Factor assault course. 15 mins from A1, based on the historic estate of Lord Zetland, again using a custom built course suitable for all riding abilities. This course is more challenging and suits racers who like rolling courses. more

Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire - Sunday 13th June – Home to the UCI XCO Mountain Bike course and one of the finest trail networks in the country. The race takes in a large part of the World Cup Course and whilst being suitable for all does involve the rider more. Suitable for confident, technical racers. more

Fremington Edge, Swaledale, North Yorkshire - Sunday 22nd August – Home to one of the most challenging technical descents in the Yorkshire Dales. Based just outside the sleepy village of Reeth, this course takes in some of the most stunning vistas the Dales have to offer. With a mixture of moorland, rocky descents, and tough climbs, we up the ante and start to push riders now. Although the course is harder than previous races, it is still suitable for all riding abilities. Suits 'Mountain Goat' racers. more

Camp Hill (course 2), Bedale, North Yorkshire - Sunday 12th September – Second foray into the Camp Hill estate grounds. Brand new custom designed course, suitable for all levels of rider. Again especially suits fast racers (not many hills on this estate). more

Hamsterley Forest, C0. Durham - Sunday 17th October – 200 hectares of mixed woodland, nestled between the Tees and Wear valleys, Hamsterley Forest is a sprawling network of routes and trails. Our second woodland event embraces the trail centre mentality and covers a mixture of natural and man-made terrain for the finale of the series. Suitable for all abilities. This could be anybody's race! more

Some courses are fast, some are technical and some are gruelling and we’ve done our best to identify the best singletrack, the most exciting descents and some good tough and technical ascents to include in the courses

All events in the series follow a common timetable:

• Sign on opens 8am
• Course opens 8.30am for practice
• Race 1: 10am - Youths (U16), Fun (Novice – non ranking)
• Race 2: 11.30am - Experts, Elite, Juniors (17-18), Sports (19-29)
• Race 3: 1400 - Masters (30-39), Veterans (40-49), Grand Veterans (50+)
• Presentation: 16.15 (ish)

Pricing:

Entry is priced at £20 in advance for all senior and veteran categories; £15 for Juniors and £10 for Youths.

Entries on the day (but we would prefer online entries to speed up the registration process) are available at a premium: Senior / Veteran £25, Junior £20 and Youth £15.