After the Swiss Epic finished on the weekend, news came from the world’s most successful cross-country team – the Scott-Odlo team have a new team member. Making a name for yourself as a Swiss mountain bike pro isn’t an easy task. With Nino Schurter leading a super strong nation in the XC discipline, many stay in the […]
Archives for September 2016
Why race the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge?
The Simpson Desert Bike Challenge is unofficially the world’s oldest mountain bike stage race. It has been running annually since 1987 when a group of hardy cyclists attempted to race from one end of Australia’s largest desert to the other on rather rudimentary 26inch mountain bikes. Today the race takes on a slightly different appearance […]
Recounting the 2016 Flight Centre Epic
The Epic; it’s perhaps the biggest mountain biking event on the Queensland calendar, and has well and truly earned its place through 14 years of events in many different forms. The 2016 Epic was just that, epic, but quite a far cry from the 114km, fireroad-heavy races of the early editions of the race. This year […]
BMC and Stockli Pro teams win the 2016 Swiss Epic
The final stage of the Perskindol Swiss Epic today proved to be another tough race, especially because of the cold and rainy weather. Lukas Flückiger and Reto Indergand of the BMC Mountainbike Racing Team I managed to control the race and secure their overall lead against the eternal second-place team CENTURION VAUDE with Daniel Geismayr and […]
Leaders extend at the Swiss Epic
In 2016, the Perskindol Swiss Epic is run in ‘reverse’. So while we are familiar with Verbier, thanks to the first two editions, and over 25 Grand Raids – it is normally associated with race starts – not finishes. But after Stage 3 arrived in Verbier yesterday, the final two stages use Verbier as the […]
Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann snare Swiss Epic stage
Every marathon stage race has a Queen stage, the longest, hardest stage in the race that offers an opportunity for some riders to show their class, and strikes fear into riders who are not sure of their preparation. Stage 3 was the Queen Stage at the Swiss Epic, as the race tackled 91km and 3000m […]
XCM World Champion returns to Brasil Ride
Reigning champions Hans Becking (NED) and Jiri Novak (CZE) just got the company of XCM World Champion, Portuguese Tiago Ferreira and Belgian Roel Paulissen, who both have won the title of the World Marathon Championship (XCM) in their careers. Ferreira is the current world champion, after winning the title at the end of June in Laissac […]
Swiss Epic teams get their flow on in Leukerbad
Stage two of the Swiss Epic was al about finding your flow. While not strictly listed as a time trial, each team had their own start time high above Leukerbad. The stage offered more metres of descent than climbing for both racing formats Epic and Flow, thanks to individual team starts at the Rinderhütte on 2313 m […]
BMC and Stockli teams extend at Swiss Epic
After one of the most impressive prologues in marathon stage racing, the Perskindol Swiss Epic rolled into stage 1 on 13th September, with riders embarking on a 90km route with 3000m of climbing on their way to Leukerbad. In the men’s category the BMC Mountainbike Racing Team I with Lukas Flückiger and Reto Indergand defended […]
Swiss teams lead the Swiss Epic after Prologue
There are marathon stage races around the world, but the Swiss Epic sits head, shoulders and torso above just about all of them. The combination of racing, trails, event logistics and service aren’t matched at any other race we have visited or competed in. And on Monday 12th September, the third edition of Perskindol Swiss Epic kicked […]