After the launch of the new Shimano XTR M9000 groupset, which offers an 11 speed cassette that can be used with a single, double or triple chainring, Shimano have released an electronic version: XTR M9050 – or XTR Di2. Although many pro MTB riders are already using XTR M9000, the XTR Di2 will add a new […]
Archives for May 2014
Cherise Stander hoping to harness Burry’s legacy
Following a tough start to the 2014 season, the iconic Cascades MTB Park and the legend of her late husband Burry could be the tonic that Cherise Stander needs as she heads into her maiden UCI MTB Marathon World Championships in Pietermaritzburg on 29 June. The Team RECM rider has had a tough start to […]
The Spectacle of Nove Mesto
Last race report I spoke of the romance and history of some big road races and how I wished mountain bike racing could be similar. This was of course, silly. Road racing might have hundreds of years of history, but what it does not have is over 20,000 crazy spectators crammed around a 4.5km course. […]
Podiums at the Borlange 3 Day Stage Race
This past weekend Ben Thomas from Mountain Trax-Vauxhall Motors cycling team was in Sweden racing the Borlange Tour which is part of the Swedish Cup series. Finally I got around to visiting Sweden to visit friends who moved out here from the UK a couple of years ago. They cycle as well so we timed […]
XCM Worlds course launched
The buzz ahead of the 2014 UCI MTB Marathon World Championships continues to build in KwaZulu-Natal’s capital as course designer Nick Floros and his team make the final tweaks to the widely anticipated route for of the global showcase. Floros and his team are hard at work as they look to wrap things up ahead […]
Nove Mesto World Cup Race Preview
Their food tastes a little different, and I am yet to taste the Czech Republic’s dirt but their single track that weaves across that dirt is some of the best I’ve ridden. Full of roots and natural doubles. It is loads of fun to practice on and should be a great track to race on come […]
Racing Australia’s Red Heart – Does it really have to end?
Well it’s over! As usual I’m left with a mixture of relief that there’s an end to the pain and inability to finish my muesli each morning, and sadness that the adventure is over. Stage races are like that. I’ve heard the only cure for post-stage-race blues is to plan another one, so at least […]
Racing Australia’s Red Heart – darkness and rain! ICME 5 & 6
I finished racing hours ago but I’m still shaking. It’s the inevitable result of sleep deprivation, lactic acid accumulation, caffeine ingestion, and a lot of adrenalin! I can now safely admit that I loathe night racing, but was trying to keep positive before Rapid Ascent’s ICME stage 5 last night in the hope that this […]
Racing Australia’s Red Heart – ICME stage 4 and the race to recover
This morning we raced an individual mountain bike time trial over 22 kilometres, through sandy, washed-out four-wheel-drive track and singletrack. The course was a little less curvy and a little flatter than I’d hoped, but I managed to put myself through enough pain to win by a few seconds, which made me very, very happy. […]
Riding Australia’s Red Heart – ICME Stages 2 & 3
Just because it’s the desert doesn’t mean its flat, and Alice Springs has one tough climb on its western edge: Anzac Hill. It’s not very long – only a few hundred metres of sealed road, but the gradient boots up to about 26%, and averages about 12%. Stage 2 of ICME, yesterday evening, had us […]