The three day event will focus on the major issues and opportunities which face the mountain bike sector in Scotland, Europe and globally.

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Mountain bike legends, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretaries, mountain bike business leaders, leading academics, CEO of British Cycling, young mountain bikers, trail building and more – are all part of the full programme for the Scottish Mountain Bike Conference 2018 which has been released today.

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Scottish Mountain Bike Conference press release

The Conference will be held at the Macdonald Highland Resort in Aviemore, in the Cairngorms National Park, on 22nd to 24th November 2018. Titled ‘Future Proofing The Trail Ahead’, it will help mountain biking navigate a successful future by helping us prepare and plan effectively with an exciting programme of speakers and workshops lined up.

To  find out more information visit www.DMBinS.com/conference

Mountain bike legend, Claudio Calouri will also address the delegates, with what we expect to be an entertaining presentation. A team manager for Gstaad-Scott, Claudio is setting the groundwork for future generations of cyclists by building pumptracks, pumpparks and downhill trails all over the world under his Velosolutions company. In his talk he will explain how he is driving forward participation through pumptracks and urban developments right through to the latest from the cutting edge of the mountain bike world cup scene.

We are delighted that the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP, will be addressing the conference. Fiona’s presentation will show the importance that the Scottish Government is placing on mountain biking. She will highlight how the sport is helping the Scottish Government achieve its targets within the national performance indicators in areas including tourism, health and the environment.

We will be hearing from the CEO of Cycling Industries Europe, Kevin Mayne, he will discuss how a new industry association spanning Europe is looking to engage the industry by having a powerful voice to help the sector reach its potential including developing a network of innovation center’s across Europe while supporting trail advocacy.

We have many other globally renowned speakers lined up to debate and discuss the key issues affecting the future of mountain biking, help us understand the partnerships and effective working relationships needed to create a sustainable direction for the sport. We will be hearing just how it is possible to grow the support for mountain biking to continue to develop trails and businesses in a sustainable manner.

To grow tourism, participation and develop our riders we require a world class and cutting edge trail network. Landowners and land managers are still concerned with the level of unauthorised trails being constructed and we are excited to announce that the conference will launch new guidance, drafted by the Scottish National Access Forum, to help riders work with landowners on this contentious issue.

We will be looking at how we effectively plan for an e-bike revolution? How Scotland and the UK can learn from the rapid e-bike growth across Europe. Debating the positives and how we can plan to mitigate against any potential negative impacts.

We will also be looking at a fresh approach to marketing destinations. Hearing from influential vloggers and those creating impact and sales from experience driven marketing.
The conference will also showcase and discuss the contribution of mountain biking in Scotland to social and environmental objectives and sustainable economic development. Highlighting to an international audience, the excellent mountain biking which exists in both the Highlands and across Scotland.

Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS) will be the lead organiser of the event. Using their experience of delivering award winning international conferences, DMBinS will be in working partnership with Cairngorms National Park Authority, Scottish Government, Edinburgh Napier University, Scottish Cycling, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Cairngorms Business Partnership and the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland to deliver an exceptional conference.

With evening activities including night rides with the locals, a Ceilidh and Scottish Banquet, the Scottish Mountain Bike Awards 2018 delegates will have the opportunity to choose from different packages to take part in the conference.