After a long and technically difficult stage from La Seu D’Urgell to El Pont de Suert travelling over 128km and with 3500metres of ascent, it came down to a sprint finish between Team Bici and Team Buff with Team Bici taking their first win in a time of 5hrs and 53 minutes. No rider seemed […]
Archives for July 2013
Training in Winter (in Noosa)
Mike suggested I write something on training in Winter but that is hardly fair to all the southerners (i.e. those south of the Queensland border) as I live and train in Noosa (Queensland) where overnight temperatures are rarely below 10 C and daytime temperatures rarely below 20C . I really don’t think I have the […]
Another day in the Transpyr saddle.
The second day of the Transpyr challenge saw riders tackle an imposing 115km with close to 3000 metres of climbing. Together with another day of intense heat, many riders suffered up the gruelling Collada Verda ,then the even lengthier climb up Collada de Toses., before traversing some difficult terrain and hike a bike to the […]
Brutal..just brutal.
There were a lot of words being spoken about the first stage of Transpyr 2013, but the most common was “brutal”. A mid 30’s temperature was an added bonus for the ride that took us from Roses on the sea, up to Camprodon at 1000 metres. A new route this year saw the riders endure […]
Hynek and Bigham win 19th Dolomiti Superbike
Kristian Hynek and Sally Bigham have won the Südtirol Dolomiti Superbike – the first race after the UCI Marathon World Championships. This year the long-distance race in the Dolomites forms part of the “UCI Marathon World Series”. The elite men had to race 113, 8 km (3,357 m); the elite women’s 80 km (2,307 m). Second […]
Jane Nuessli: As one door closes, another opens.
Jane Nuessli has been racing mountain bikes since the turn of the century, making her way to the upper echelons of the sport in Europe. Her palmares is full of top-level results including wins in the Grand Raid Cristalp, the National Park bike marathon and a fine 7th place in last year’s muddy XCM World […]
Riding Transpyr: Mediterranean to Atlantic via the odd mountain or two.
With the very generous support of MarathonMTB.com, Mike Blewitt and the organisers of the Transpyr, Kim and I are in Roses putting the finishing touches to our preparation for departure tomorrow. We have 9 days to pedal 820kms across the Pyrenees to our destination of San Sebastian on the Atlantic ocean. This evening, before our […]
19th Dolomiti Superbike setting new records
This Saturday, the Sutirol welcomes the international marathon mountain biking community back to their towns. The 19th rendition of the Südtirol Dolomiti Superbike forms part of the Marathon World Series, the routes have had to be redefined. The men tackle the 113.8 km/3.357m course; the ladies contest the 80km/2.307m. All other categories totalling 24 can […]
Nienke’s Euro Blog: Racing Xterra Switzerland
Many thoughts can take over your mind when preparing for a big race, I believe female athletes might be slightly more extreme in falling into this negative spiral of doubts. “Am I good enough, did I train hard enough, do I belong here, do I look fit enough, will I get smashed, what if I […]
XCM Worlds: Dealing with the Reality Check
I always knew it was going to be tough coming to race the World Marathon Championships with limited time to acclimatise and limited racing time in my legs. The reality was somewhat more of a shock. Most of the top competitors arrive a week or more before and recce the whole course. For me, with […]