It will forever be remembered as a dark day on the South African cycling calendar: 3 January 2013 – the date one of the sport’s greatest talents was killed. Only 25 at the time, Stander died after being hit by a taxi while training on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast. He had become a household name following his courageous […]
Racing in Europe on a Backpacker Budget: Part Two
In the middle of December I reminisced about living overseas, and relishing the opportunity for more travel. More adventure. More racing. But all on a limited budget. That was part one – this is part two. Packing up and heading overseas can always seem like a huge expense. And it isn’t ‘cheap’ – but there […]
Favourite MTB events in 2014
What are the days between Christmas and New Years Eve for save for riding, holidays, great food and drink, and some time to relax? Reflection, it seems. I had close to 40 days of racing in 2014, less than some years, but more than many other years. But with two overseas trips, a lot of […]
What you read in 2014
It has been a fun year in the world of marathon mountain biking and stage racing, with new events, some new heroes – and thankfully few villains. At MarathonMTB.com we have been trying to bring some unique stories and important news to readers around the world – and we are really happy with how the […]
Racing in Europe on a Backpacker Budget: Part One
It is easy to get jealous of what other cyclists get up to. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason for social media is to make others jealous – the success theatre as my partner would say. And sometimes, what you end up looking at looks good. Really good. When I was in my mid-20s, and […]
Bike Buller open Australian Alpine Epic Trail
Long trails in high places are not unique. Mountain bikers in North America have the luxury of countless miles (and kilometres) of singletrack in some pristine environments. Be they in alpine resorts, or just on high plains, or even at sea level actually… it’s there. Often multi-use, or historical trail, but it’s there. A huge […]
Protective Bike Four Peaks in 2015
With a race organisation motto of ‘four days of concentrated mountain bike passion in a unique scenery’, the Protective BIKE Four Peaks recipe is off to a pretty enticing start. For 2015, the finished product is set to be an enthralling display of true European stage racing. Next year will see a re-invention of the […]
Redback to hit Alice Springs this August
Stage racing in Central Australia is not a new thing. I remember jealously watching team mates and friends pack up their bags 10 years ago to head out for a stage race at Alice Springs, and they came back raving about raw trails, an amazing event vibe, and thorns. Alice Springs has hosted various iterations […]
Anthony Shippard: Dissecting the Hellfire Cup
It’s very hard to write-up a stage race – so much happens within each stage that putting it all together makes for such a huge long list of events that it’s impossible to get the ‘feel’ for the event. Instead of writing up a blow-by-blow account of who won what, and who punctured when, let’s leave […]
Counting the top 10 of 2014
I’ll readily admit that there is still a lot of 2014 left to go. About 10% of it actually. And living in Sydney, Australia, means that it’s actually one of the best times of the year to ride right now. But after the Crocodile Trophy, a few easy weeks have been very much enjoyed, and […]