For 16 years, mountain bikers around the world have known that March is Absa Cape Epic month. Of course, until Covid-19 arrived and the 17th edition of the Absa Cape Epic was cancelled with just 24 hours notice. 12 months on, the Cape Epic organisers plan to reclaim March for riders across the world – […]
The Otway Odyssey is go!
Rapid Ascent have confirmed that the Otway Odyssey Mountain Bike Marathon and Great Otway Gravel Grind events are proceeding as planned this Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st February at Forrest, Victoria. This go ahead is based upon the public advice given by Victorian Premier Dan Andrews at the press conference this morning. There are a couple of changes required, […]
The Redback brings racing back to Alice Springs
After a quiet year where few numbers where attached to handlebars, Rapid Ascent are have opened entries to the award-winning Redback MTB Stage Race, set to return to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (NT) on Friday 20 to Monday 23 August 2021. The Redback has had a couple of variants and names over the […]
Our take on the Appenninica 2021 MTB stage race route.
The Appenninica MTB stage race was one of the lucky ones in 2020. They had to postpone their event to September, but the new date ended up being a better date, avoiding some of the high temperatures that the Emilia Romagna region enjoys (or suffers?) in July. So here we are in 2021, and the […]
Otway Odyssey – a look back to the start
In 2007, there was a new race on the calendar – the Otway Odyssey. A 100km race was scheduled to start on the Great Ocean Road at Apollo Bay, and climb up and over the Otway Ranges towards the town of Forrest, where the old logging roads and new singletrack would be tackled, before finishing […]
Roxsolt Liv SRAM coming to the Otways
There’s no doubt that the Otway Odyssey and Great Otway Gravel Grind (GOGG) making one of the best weekends of offroad riding and racing in Australia. This week, Team Roxsolt Liv SRAM – Australia’s only UCI Continental Women’s Team – have announced that they will be racing the two events in Forrest Victoria on the 20-21 […]
2020 UCI XCM World Championships live coverage
The UCI Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) World Championships are Sakarya, Turkey. The course has 3 laps, and after mud at the test event – the sun is out! Start lists are available here. They’re smaller than the last few years, but top heavy with talent.
2021 Otway Odyssey returns to Apollo Bay
One of the best parts of marathon distance mountain bike racing is going somewhere. Anyone who wants to ride for a long time may get frustrated by going in loops, and maybe that’s why 24 Hour solo racers are a breed of their own! Some of the best mountain bike races are single loops, or […]
Shimano MTB GP rocks Townsville
Last Saturday marked the return of the HOT ROCK RACE to Townsville XC racing with the Shimano MTB Grand Prix by Rocky Trail Entertainment and supported by the Townsville Enterprise Limited. The event might have had lower than expected numbers but there wasn’t a lack of competition. The 4 hour and 7 hour format might […]
Short and sweet at the Swiss Epic
On Stage 3 of the 2020 Swiss Epic, mountain bikers were treated to some of the best singletrack the canton has to offer, including the Hörnli Trail – one of Europe’s longest flow trails. True to form, and pre-stage expectations, SCOTT-SRAM excelled on a route seemingly tailor-made for their strengths. Nino Schurter and Lars Forster […]