The Appenninica MTB Stage Race launched in 2019 and is celebrating its 5th year now in 2023. This year rthe race lines up with 6 challenging stages in the Emilia Romagna region. After Scott Cornish raced abnd reported in 2020 and Gordon Wadsworth did the same in 2021 – it was time for Imogen Smith […]
Selle Repente Artax GL mountain bike saddle – trail tested
Earlier this year I reached out to Selle Repente about testing one of their saddles. I wasn’t very aware of the entire range, but had seen a few athletes (Italian riders specifically) using them, and their designs looked intriguing. While I have moved to the flat, wide, short style of saddles over the past few […]
Top 5 mountain bike races that no longer exist
What race do you miss the most? Team rider and contributor Justin Morris reflects on some of the races we longer get to pin a number on for.
Riding the Swiss Alpine Bike #1 MTB Route
Last week I set off to ride the Swiss Alpine Bike #1 MTB route, which runs across Switzerland from Scuol to Aigle (or Aigle to Scuol), covering 670km and 24700m of climbing. It is suggested to cover the route in 16 days, but I planned around 8, booked my accommodation on Booking.com and arrived in […]
Alpine Bike #1 route in Switzerland – the preparation
I’m sitting on a train, travelling backwards on the way to Zurich. Every now and then I take a cursory glance at my bike bag near the train’s entry. My final destination today is Scuol, right in the east of Switzerland in the canton of Graubuenden. But this is far from my final destination on […]
Bike Check: Imogen Smith’s Factor Lando XC
For 2023, our team riders made the move to the recently released Factor Lando XC full-suspension frames. The bikes were released in 2022, one of two mountain bikes that Factor have designed and built. Given their place in the high end road, gravel and triathlon markets, it is no surprise that both the Factor Lando […]
6 reasons to ride The Redback this August
Mountain bike stage races and Alice Springs go together like red wine and cheese. The city in the centre of Australia has hosted mountain bike stage races for two decades, with riders visiting from the edges of the continent to ride the sweet singletrack in the red centre. In 2023 The Redback runs from 18-21 […]
Bike check: Mike Blewitt’s Factor LS for the Devil’s Cardigan
Here at MarathonMTB.com we’ve realised there is a lot of crossover between the training, racing, and outlook of marathon events and gravel events. And that’s why along with Justin Morris and Imogen Smith, I’m mixing in a few gravel events this year. Having used a Norco Threshold for cyclocross racing, road racing, training and gravel […]
Unbound Gravel a marriage of XCM & Road Racing?
Team rider Justin Morris parked the MTB to tackle likely the most famous gravel race in the world, the Unbound in Kansas, USA. Hear about his dissection of the race from an MTBer and Roadie angle.
Goosebumps and Gravel – The Sunday Creek Classic
On Wednesday I picked up my first ever gravel bike, a sweet little Trek Checkpoint SL 5. On Thursday I rode it up and down Mt Coot-tha. It seemed fine. So on Saturday I raced it for the first time, driving it up to the cute town of Kenilworth for The Sunday Creek Classic. The […]