British rider wins… The World Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championships!

What’s better than swimming through a deep, dark, muddy Welsh ditch filled with eels? Cycling through it of course!

Following on from Team GB’s success in the Rio Olympics, British athlete Oliver McKenna has claimed the world title of mountain bike bog snorkelling (yes, you read that right!).

Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championships 2016

© 2016 www.surridge-films.com

The event is held annually (as part of the World Alternative Games) at the Waen Rhydd bog, just outside the town of Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. Competitors must charge from the start ramp into a 6 foot deep eel-infested trench in the bog, maintaining as much momentum as possible.

Due to the unique challenges of the environment bog standard mountain bikes (ed: sorry) just won’t cut the mustard, so participants use highly specialised equipment: bikes and bodies are weighed down with lead, and the tyres are filled with water to improve traction on the muddy bottom.

Can we get that #OnlyinBritain hashtag going now?