The Giant Odyssey has matured to become a pinnacle annual event for many elite marathon mountain bike riders, well attended by both national and international riders. In the last two years, the Rapid Ascent team have honed the 100km course, modifying it into a logistically more appropriate ‘clover leaf’ circuit with riders starting, transitioning and finishing […]
Marathon Series: The Maverick Marathon and The Real Insurance
What is it about a series that inspires a rider to enter a collective of events with the view to achieve in both the individual event and the series overall? The fields of XCO and DH have are veterans in series events showcasing on both a state and national forum. The riders are encouraged to […]
Giant Odyssey Mountain Bike Marathon 2014
There is less than a month of training left in the lead up to the notorious Giant Otway Odyssey and both the male and female fields are stacked! The first Odyssey in 2007 was a point to point race from the beautiful seaside town of Apollo Bay to the hinterland village Forrest. I raced this […]
Capital Punishment: mastering the untimed section
If you have never done this race it is a ‘must do’ for any marathon racer, elite, amateur or enthusiast. Capital Punishment (the race) is now five years old and has matured into a fabulous annual event attracting approximately 1500 riders, many of which are repeat offenders. The race is a point-to-point race from East […]
Report No. 39 – Inquiry into Cycling Issues
The rift between motor vehicle drivers and cyclists sharing the road is a self perpetuating continuum of angst for both parties and unfortunately it is the cyclist, the more vulnerable party, that often pays the ultimate price. I cycle and I drive, I have had a near death experience thanks to the ignorance of a […]
Is Equal Prize Money Equal Recognition?
The debate about equal prize money for males and females spans all facets of the sporting world, it is the eternal struggle for equal financial recognition for female athletes. It is an interesting and convoluted debate as in most sporting disciplines the women are seen as the fairer sex and granted a shorter period of […]
LIMBC 2013 Stages 4 and 5: Never a dull moment
There is never an easy day in Langkwai at the LIMBC, the closing two stages were considerably shorter in distance than the preceding stages (stage 4: XCO 4.5km course x 5 laps and stage 5: XCC 1.6km course x 8 or 9 laps) and time (XCC 30 minutes to XCO 90 minutes) but the womens […]
Mud and Thunder at LIMBC
The last two mornings dawned with flashes of lightning and tropical rain ‘showers’. I now understand why the stages are not started until 1000 as by then the rain is clearing and the day has begun a fresh. The downside of the rain is perpetuating the ever present mud. Stages two and three were 45km […]
Stage 1 LIMBC 2013: 65km XCM
Stage one LIMBC 2013: a 65km XCM around the island, a description that conjures up scenic ideals and one would expect a scenic tour of the island….Ha!… Todays stage was far from a scenic tour and displayed all the attributes of ‘classic Malaysian racing’: mud, paddocks and water crossings separated by much appreciated sections of tar […]
LIMBC Prologue 2013 (2.4km ITT)
LIMBC kicked off this morning with a short 2.4km ITT around Eagle Square/Legenda park in what could be considered ‘ideal’ Malaysian conditions, cloud cover, a slight breeze and no rain. The riders were reverse seeded based on their previous racing accomplishments and subsequent UCI ranking, with the Senior Masters leading the charge at 1000. Riders […]