Muni

The Muni competitions at Unicon 21 will take place at three different locations on three different days.

1. Wednesday, July 17 at Giants Ridge (2.5 hour drive): Intermediate/Elite Cross Country, Intermediate/Elite Downhill. Practice Day: Monday, July 15.

2. Tuesday, July 23 at Buena Vista Ski Area (near Bemidji): All Uphill, Beginner DH & Cross Country. Practice Day: Saturday, July 20.

3. Wednesday, July 24 at Unicon Central: Cyclocross.

Muni Practice Day - July 15, 2024
There will be a practice day at the Giants Rdige Muni location. Bus and lift tickets are available on the registration page. Bus will be $45, lift ticket is $39. The Unicon team does not have access to Giants Ridge prior to practice day so we will be marking the courses throughout the practice day

The first three competitions are off-road races where multiple waves of unicyclists try to cross the finish lines within the fastest time.

During the downhill race, riders have to ride a downslope of high difficulty. During the uphill race, they have to ride an upslope of high difficulty. Cross country is a mix of downhill and uphill where slopes are of moderate difficulty.

Cyclocross is unlike the other races: artificial obstacles are laid on the circuit and riders have to overcome them, and may unmount to run. The winner is the one who has completed the most laps within the given time.

Muni Competition Details

Uphill and Beginner cross country will happen on Tuesday, July 23rd at a separate location from the intermediate and elite cross country races. 

Intermediate and Elite Cross Country

Course map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2681619    XC Intermediate/Elite PDF
Additional photos of the trails available from TrailForks.

Note: the course has recently changed due to flooding in Northern Minnesota. Updated July 11. Elite riders complete the north loop of the course twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of the race course.

Cross Country configuration will be different from what we are used to, but we believe this will make for a better race, for both participants and spectators.

• All participants will begin riding on the intermediate section of the trail. Riders will start in waves. 

• Regardless of how you registered, your performance during the race will determine whether you are awarded as Intermediate or Elite.

• The course is almost 22 km long; at the 12km mark there will be a cutoff time. The cutoff time is yet to be determined.

  • Riders who reach the 12km mark before the cutoff time will be considered and awarded as an elite rider and will continue onto the elite section of the trail. Any rider who finishes the 12km part of the race before the cutoff time, but does not complete the full elite course will still be considered as ‘finishing’ the race, but will be placed as a ‘1 lap’, with the time they completed the first 12km.

  • Riders who reach the 12km mark after the cutoff time will not be allowed to continue and will be considered and awarded as an intermediate rider. 

• This also means all participants will have the possibility to compete for the world championship title.

Clarification on Stalling

Riders that intentionally stall in clear sight of the 12km mark will be bumped to the elite race, no matter their time. Riders are considered stalling if they slow down their pace without a visible reason such as drastic changes to the surface, obstacles etc.

Riders that are considered stalling will be warned by an acoustic signal such as a whistle or horn. If the rider is not immediately complying to the marshal’s instructions on speeding up, he or she will be considered a subject to the rule of stalling, and bumped onto the elite course.

It is up to the discretion of the Chief Judge as to whether or not a rider is considered a subject to the rule of stalling. The Chief Judge should take into account the opinions of the Course Marshals when making this decision.

With these changes we hope to have a more spectator-friendly Cross Country race, where any participant could win the world championship title. 

Be safe. Have fun. Ride fast.

U21 Muni Team

Intermediate and Elite Downhill

DH Course: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2430508      DH Course PDF
Additional photos of the trails available from TrailForks.

Some construction is being completed at the Giants Ridge DH trails, so we are limited in our trail selection options. As a result, we are planning on a single DH course with no finals.

• Competitors will each have the option for two runs, with the faster time as the race result.

• Because we only have a single trail available and because of the long travel distance from Bemidji resulting in a shorter competition day, there will be no additional finals. (Finals are not required by the IFU rulebook, see 4D.7 Race Configuration.)

• Note, due to the construction on the trails, the exact trail selection for DH may change but will be similar to the trail shown on the course map above. We are unlikely to select the alternate course.

Last Updated: June 7, 2024