Mike Blewitt is in Europe now racing Stage races and marathons, with the selection criteria published so late he may have already committed to a different schedule. He didn't make the automatic selection criteria and I'm not sure if he applied based on previous experience results. Smiker?
As for cost, those entering the Marathon World Champs have typically paid all their own costs, this year was the first that team riding kit was going to given to those selected (in the past they've even had to pay for this)
The selection criteria was published a little bit late, but as has been shown over the past three years, MTBA doesn't stick to its own timeframes. I did apply, basing my application on the fourth critera, marathon performances since August 9th 2010. I had a top 25 UCI C1 finish, and a top 20 UCI C2, both from Switzerland. But realistically, I'm not nearly fit enough at the moment. When I applied I thought that was turning around.
MTBA publish a date that they will announce a team. In the past three years this has never been kept. SOa lthough I was lucky enough to represent my country in 2009 and 2010, I was pretty cooked by then anyway, as I hadn't heard from MTBA and so filled my schedule. 2010 was barely two weeks notice, at which point it was the last race of about 12 weekends straight, including TransAlp, Dolomiti Superbike, and the 145km Montafon (C2) in Austria. MTBA hadn't supplied XCM Nationals results either, robbing Adrian Jackson of a valuable higher grid position.
With CA finishing their MTB High Performance program, it'sup to MTBA now. And there is minimal finding. As stated, Marathon Worlds is self funded for Australians, but you need to be nominated by your national federation. The general MTBA aim is to win gold medals. So that's an XCO focus. This is a shame, as I reckon Australia has some top Marathon talent. Not me personally, I come to Europe to race Marathons and Stage Races as I think it's the best sport in the world - I race with enthusiasm, not talent.
It is still a rainbow jersey on the line, and I think MTBA need to put better structure into the selection. Have a series of selection events. Not just national XCM and XCO and MTBA Marathons. How many MTBA Marathons are there anyway? Do most MTBA members race top level XCO or Marathons and enduro's? There's a lot to go into, but this probably isn't the right place.
But it's a shame to have had no representation in Italy, when clearly it is a title that the Germans, Italians, Swiss and Austrians clearly value.
Smiker