The hub for marathon mountain-biking
Bright blue skies and picture-book conditions were present in the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites: organisers and participants of the BMW HERO Südtirol Dolomites could not have asked for more. The hugely popular race still presents an immense challenge in fine weather and the 4018 starters had to give it their all on 86 kilometres and 4500 vertical […]
The sense of impending doom that lay over me from the early hours of this morning can’t be underestimated. After two stages of the Rumble in the Jungle stage race I keep feeling like I’ve got to the finish by the skin of my teeth. I probably feel like that after any stage of any […]
Waking up in Haputale this morning was a unique experience. With a tiny bit of jet lag I was awake just before 4:30am. Then the mosque next to the hotel had a call to prayer. Then there were roosters. Then train horns, then dogs, then tropical birdsong. While it is easy to sometimes forget where […]
Stage 1 of the 2018 Rumble in the Jungle took riders from the jungle up to the highlands – and they say this is the easy stage!
When I set up the MarathonMTB.com website in late 2010, it was only because I had countless hours of help from a friend. By help, I mean he built it, designed it, and continues to look after the site to this day. I just had a concept. After working, riding, racing and travelling for the […]
Jolanda Neff is one of the most exciting and dynamic riders in cross-country racing. She is the reigning XCO World Champion and won the XCM World Championships in 2016. Neff has also confirmed she will ride the Whaka 100 in New Zealand this October. Since riding for Kross Neff has been on a Kross Level hardtail, […]
The final day of the 2018 Port to Port promised to be many things. It would be on of the shorter stages at 45km, and the flattest with only 570m of climbing. But it would also have some of the best trails, and be the only stage that would take us from one point to […]
Stage 3 of the Port to Port MTB Race is known for a hard but fun course. And with an update to the start it meant we would be racing sooner and not in a neutral escort on the road for as long. And with everything on the line for the open men’s race and […]
Stage two of Port to Port was an all-new route for 2018, bringing new trails, a new start and finish and a whole lot of guesswork to how it would play out once the gun fired, especially considering how close the men’s GC is after Stage 1. With the race starting at the Sugar Valley […]
The 2018 Port to Port had a rejig for its 5th year, moving the start to Audrey Wilkinson winery in the Hunter Valley. The rising sun with hot air balloons and a sky that went from purple to orange and then to clear blue greeted every rider as they arrived. As the 8am start got […]
