The hub for marathon mountain biking
At Andalucia Bike Race a couple of weeks ago we had a chance to look at one of the most impressive looking bikes on the pro circuit, the Centurion Numinis Carbon XC Team of Markus Kaufmann and Team Centurion Vaude. Weighing in at a featherweight 9.3 kilograms this rocket ship will be ridden by the […]
It was the hardest Andalucia Bike Race to date but the marathon king Tiago Ferreira still dominated the competition. Hildegunn Hovdenak took the ladies after winning the final 2 stages. The inclement weather in this year’s edition resulted in shortened stages plus a cancelled stage 5. Whilst the whole of Europe suffered with storms the […]
Back in February Ben Thomas Coaching hosted coaching clients and guests in the training haven of Gran Canaria. These weeks were a key part of preparation for the 2018 season. Here’s my view on this ‘Training Haven’. Whilst I’ve worked for guiding companies in the past this was my first attempt at hosting a training […]
Whilst I travelled with both hardtail and full suspension bikes to Andalucia Bike Race it was the Simplon Cirex full suss which I raced. The rocky terrain of the 3 locations, Jaen, Andujar and Cordoba, would test fitness abilities, technical skills, and mental stiffness. A full suspension bike was the obvious choice for this demanding […]
Tiago Ferreira, twice winner of Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano comes back this year to contend for the final podium again. The portuguese is the current European MTB Marathon (XCM) Champion and World’s runner-up, title he won in 2016. Twice winner of Andalucía Bike Race presented by Shimano consecutively, in 2016 in team format […]
LaTramun brought Girona to the centre of attention this past week. Participants from various countries travelled to the Catalan region for this beautiful event. The race is known for its amazing scenery, unique landscape and technically challenging course. The city of Girona realise the events importance which is why they apply for the event to […]
Last weekend it was time to celebrate 2017 and 20,000 people came out to party. Roc d’Azur once again hosted the end of season get together with 5 days of events. This could be my fourth visit to sunny Frejus on the stunning French Riviera. After being ill I wasn’t in a position to […]
It’s always a thrill when you get to visit somewhere as amazing as the Azores, the island of Sao Miguel has hosted a round of the UCI World Marathon Series since 2015. There is so much support for the event from the local community, these islands put a lot of effort into attracting tourists and […]
Over the past 2 years it’s been a privilege to have worn the National Champion’s stripes at the front of some of the biggest marathon races in the world. I remember the first international race I went to in the jersey, I was parked up at the hotel pulling the bike out of the Vauxhall […]
It’s always an experience racing World Championships and this year was no exception. On Thursday British Airways cancelled our flight, we were so close to not making it to the start line but flights rescheduled for Friday we were on route to my 5th Worlds. Over the years I’ve moved up from a starting position […]
