 Mountain Bike orienteer with hard tail mountain bike, clipless pedals, and map holder. | |
| Highest governing body | International Orienteering Federation |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Non-contact |
| Team members | Individual |
| Mixed-sex | Separate categories |
| Type | Outdoor |
Mountain bike orienteering (MTB-O or MTBO) is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. Compared with foot orienteering, competitors usually are not permitted to leave the trail and track network. Navigation tactics are similar to ski-orienteering, where the major focus is route choice while navigating. The main difference compared to ski-orienteering is that navigation is done at a higher pace, because the bike can reach higher speeds. As the biker reaches higher speeds, map reading becomes more challenging.