After four days in Austria I felt well rested and prepared for the 2013 World Marathon Championships. The course was a 95 kilometre loop with 4400 metres of climbing. I’d practised nearly the entire course before race day so was confident I knew all the lines and could ride all the technical sections. On Thursday I filmed the final descent with a head cam.
An early start Saturday morning was necessary with the 8am race start so a 5am alarm call allowed enough time for breakfast to be digested. A steady 15 minute ride down to the Kirchberg race arena was followed by a good warm up on the rollers; the legs felt great and all the heart rate zones were easily achieved. I was ready and motivated.
Ben Thomas warms up before the race start. Photo: John@Vermont Images
My UCI World Ranking had slipped slightly having not done any UCI Marathon races since April but my gridding of 65th was much better than last year. Off the start I narrowly avoided an accident where another rider snapped his chain accelerating out of the arena. I made it onto the back of the lead group as the field of 165 split along the fast 5 kilometres start road. Turning onto the first of the four mountain climbs the pace remained high and we rode to the top at cross country pace, not what you’d expect for a 5 hour marathon but this was World Champs!
I was making steady progress but losing places on the steeper parts of the climbs – which was often the final kilometre where the course kicked steeply up to the ski lift stations: we don’t have many mountains at home in Southern England! I was riding the descents well, making up places on the singletrack, and having fun racing the Scott Scale 29er.

Ben’s Scott Scale typified the choice of bike for many: hardtail, 29er, carbon, and 1×11. Photo: John@Vermont Images
John from Vermont Images had flown out to help with feed and technical support. Armed with bottles and wheels John weaved the Vauxhall van through the tight alpine roads to several of the feed zones. Four of the feed zones were at the top of the mountains and only accessible to team staff by ski lift so many teams had 2 or 3 staff spread around the course. A tough race like this required a large consumption of energy products. At this race I consumed a 750ml bottle of Epic Pro during my warm up, then in the race had 4 bottles of CytoPower, 7 Vooma gels and a Spike caffeine drink. Whilst other people were suffering from cramps and blowing up in the final hour I was still going strong, making up around 7 places on the final mountain climb.
The final descent was hard work especially on the faster section at the top where the trail was covered in bumps. I was suffering massively from arm pump. All the rain which fell overnight before the race left the downhill sections under the trees very slippery and all the roots were nicely polished. I rode safely and made it into the finish. All over the course spectators had gathered, with big groups of Swiss, Italian, German and Italian fans at the top of the mountains waving national flags and shouting support for all the riders. The ski lifts normally open on 1st July for the summer season but the tourist board had specifically opened the lifts a few days early to allow team staff and spectators access to the mountains. By the finish the arena was packed with fans and each athlete got a big welcome home as they crossed the line.
Finishing for 51st.
It was a great feeling to finish knowing I’d ridden well. I didn’t quite achieve my goal of top 40 but I’m super happy to have been part of the GB team and to have finished 51st in the World Championships!