In Kirchberg, Austria, Christoph Sauser and Gunn Rita Dahle-Flesja were crowned 2013 UCI Marathon World Champions on June 29th. Using the courses of the KitzAlpBike Marathon, the men were off at 8:00am and women at 8:30am. A cool start of below 9 degrees did warm up as the day progressed, and the course was in […]
Archives for June 2013
New Final Stage for Crocodile Trophy
The 2013 edition of the Crocodile Trophy will not only include a brand-new Relay Team category for three riders in addition to the individual and Adventure Pairs classifications, but also the longest individual time trial ever raced and, what’s just been confirmed, a brand-new last stage from Hopevale to Cooktown on day nine. Reports just […]
2013 Marathon World Championships Preview: Part 2
Where The XCM Worlds changes location every year, and is attached to another successful marathon. This creates variety – but except for a running in Norway, all the other years have been pretty close to one another! As was suggested in Part one though, most top Marathon racers are around the European alpine regions. And so, […]
The bike of a Sella Ronda Hero
The bikes of Marathon racers the world over have common themes: Carbon fibre, 29er wheels, and a hardtail. While there are many exceptions to this rule, these does typify the majority of bikes in a Marathon MTB race. For stage races, especially something like the Cape Epic, you tend to have a few other common […]
2013 Marathon World Championships Preview: Part 1
Part One: Who? It is now just a week away from the 2013 UCI Marathon Mountain Bike World Championships (XCM Worlds to be more succinct). The XCM Worlds differ a little from any other Marathon, as this is when racers are representing their nation. Their colours are that of their country, not of their trade […]
Paez and Bigham triumphant at Sella Ronda Hero
In what could well be one of the most picturesque regions in the world for a Marathon MTB race, the Val Gardena showed all it’s beauty and difficulty today in the 4th Sella Ronda Hero. Although this is only the fourth time the race has been run, the organisers have created a highly popular, well […]
Original Tracks to be used at Sella Ronda Hero
The original tracks of the Südtirol Sellaronda HERO over 62 km/3,300 m climb and 84 km/ 4,300 m climb are re-established thanks to the valuable assistance of the mayor of Selva/Wolkenstein, the municipality of Arabba, the forest ranger office, the many volunteers and the warm weather. The announcement was made today by the organizers of […]
A handy guide to cheering
It does rather depend on where in the world you are. Head to the cycling heartlands of Italy, Spain, Belgium & France, and increasingly Germany & Austria, and you can guarantee that any bike race that goes through a town will be greeted with encouragement of some description. Local kids, crudely painted (and sometimes crudely designed!) banners, […]
Marathon Goals for the Australian Winter
For those that don’t live in Australia, it may seem comical that we complain about cold temperatures and other typical winter conditions. Although we don’t have months of snowpack, we do still have single digit temperatures (and lower), cold rain, wind, and the worst – short day light hours. So just like in the Northern […]
Alpine Roadtrips: All Hail the Vehicle!
The reasons and desires that push me towards road trips with my mountain bike are often not truly realised, and sometimes irrational to onlookers. More on this later in the week. Since 2007 I have spent between 5 and 15 week blocks in Europe, living out of a ‘suitcase’. Truth be told it has more […]