I woke up yesterday morning insisting that I was not going to race the Highland Fling. I’d had no sleep. I was clearly getting tonsillitis (again). I still had Croc Trophy saddle sores that refused to heal. I hadn’t ridden my bike for a fortnight. I’d dropped from the elite 110km race to the 55km […]
Croc Trophy Diary: Railing the Atherton Trails
Sitting down, in clean clothes, using free wifi. As the Croc gets into swing, scenes like these are getting rarer. It’s day three and we cruised from Lake Tinaroo to race at Atherton, another MTB mecca, this morning, where we’ll have a brief reprieve from the daily pack-up for two nights. Mike and I were […]
Questing the Croc
A few weeks ago, when I was wondering out loud why the hell I torture myself with so much mountain bike racing, a friend looked me straight in the face and said ‘I think you just thrive on the drama.’ She’s undeniably right, and it got me thinking that what really gets a lot of […]
Reviewed: ZTR Valor 29″ Carbon MTB Wheels
The ZTR Valor wheels have been long-awaited from the brand that brought us lightweight tubeless rims, and the ZTR Crest, Arch and Race Gold wheel set are be found on many marathon and stage racing bikes. But light alloy rims aren’t without their downsides. Flex can be a problem, if not for lighter riders, for more […]
Kowalski Classic race preview, tips and predictions
The Kowalski Classic is just three years old, but already attracts big numbers and top riders. Set in Kowen Forest near Canberra, the 100km and 50km marathons take in the finest trails built by the mysterious trail construction coven, the Kowalski Brothers. Your MarathonMTB team were out on course today to bring you the best tips […]
Goal-Setting for Marathon MTB Racing
Many of us compete in the same marathons again and again, trying to improve our performance each year (or maybe just beat our mates). That’s where some systematic goal setting comes in handy, if you’re looking for motivation to succeed. Most of us don’t bother setting goals properly because, as marathon racers, we’re already intrinsically-motivated, […]
Not racing, gambling. The 2014 Eiger Bike Challenge
After racing Sudety MTB Challenge as a mixed pair, Mike and I had spent some time training in Livigno (pasta, altitude, trails, bikewash. Oh, and freezing rain), then travelled to Grindewald in Switzerland to write about MTB tourism in the area for Australian Mountain Bike magazine and race the Eiger Bike Challenge, a famous Swiss marathon […]
Busting the Crocodile Trophy’s biggest myths
Over the years, like all the most challenging events in the world, the Crocodile Trophy has accumulated a lot of myths about it. It’s nothing but dry desert roads. You won’t get a shower. You might get bitten by a snake. At least two of these are myths. Now let’s bust some more. The Croc […]
Sella Ronda… Zero
This blog was supposed to be a preview of the Sella Ronda Hero: the 2015 UCI World MTB Marathon Champs. On a perfect day, in perfect weather, I failed to ride around the course. So, here’s the story of what went wrong, and what’s right about that. When people find out that Mike and I […]
Sudety MTB Challenge 2014 Stage 5: The final to Kudowa-Zdroj
Stage 5 – Walim to Kudowa-Zdroj: 80 kilometres What happened? After a whole day of rain yesterday, a bit more overnight, and a cloudy, foggy morning, riders could have been forgiven for wishing that organisers would take pity on them and shorten the 80km Queen Stage of Sudety MTB Challenge 2014 just a little. Yesterday’s 44km […]