Like grief, or a long-term relationship, a marathon mountain bike race is a journey through a spectrum of emotions, from joy to despair. Here’s our take on the seven emotional stages of a marathon mountain bike race. 1. Anticipation You sign up. You call your mates and tell them to sign up. You’re all signed […]
Take a look at the 2017 Crocodile Trophy
Related Event: Crocodile Trophy
Running since 1995, the Crocodile Trophy has a reputation as one of the toughest mountain bike stage races on the planet. But just how well do you know the route? The race’s distance and days have steadily dropped over the past years. And now the 8 day race tackles a compact route based primarily on […]
Preparing for the Mongolia Bike Challenge
Related Event: Mongolia Bike Challenge
With less than 3 weeks to go until the beginning of the 2017 Mongolia Bike Challenge the 108 riders who have signed up will be starting to think seriously about how they have or have not prepared for this race. The profile for this year’s edition has taken on a different look to years past […]
REVIEWED: The Camelbak Forge
If you live for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai – or any kind of hot drink, you’ll be interested in the Camelbak Forge. The 350mL insulated cup weighs 294 grams, stands 190mm high and fits neatly in a bottle cage (sort of), the side of your bag, your hand, or your car’s bottle holder. Numbers […]
Why Race The Mongolia Bike Challenge?
Related Event: Mongolia Bike Challenge
Next month will mark the 7th occurrence of what is fast becoming a cornerstone of the international marathon mountain bike stage race calendar. The Mongolia Bike Challenge was first held in 2010 and spanned 10 days and over 1400km and was won by Italian’s Marzio Deho and Allania Vassechi. The race has since been shortened to […]
Who can win the 2017 XCM World Championships in Singen?
This weekend presents a tough challenge. Not only will the world’s best marathon mountain bike racers tackle the XCM World Championships, but perhaps the fight for the rainbow jerseys at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships have never been so difficult to predict. Amongst the 188 registered men are ten or more real candidates to grab […]
How to pack your bike for plane travel
I have travelled with my own mountain bike to countless mountain bike races and riding destinations over the past 14 years. Bike hire is always an option, but if you’re going to compete, or do more than riding for a few days in one place – taking your own bike makes more sense. I’ve used a […]
Five reasons Alice Springs is worth the trip
Related Event: The Redback
While Alice Springs might be the closest town to every beach in Australia, it’s also prohibitively far from all the nation’s capital cities. For many of us, this means a longish flight or maybe two; it means a fair bit of holiday budget sunk into airfares and accommodation; and it means we might think twice […]
The Alps Epic: A newbie stage race that’s turning heads
Related Event: Alps Epic
In the summer of 2016, a new European stage race was born, and this year the team at MarathonMTB.com couldn’t be more excited. Not since the Swiss Epic launched in 2014 has Europe hosted a new stage race with all the trimmings and all the ingredients for a truly epic experience: a journey through hidden […]
Who can win the 2017 Australian Marathon Championships?
Related Event: Australian XCM Championships - UCI XCM Series
The elite titles for Australia’s 2017 Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) Championship are set to be decided on 30th April. For this year, the XCM Champs have travelled north to Townsville, being run in conjunction with the Townsville MTB Festival for this year and 2018. Townsville is home of the Townsville Rockwheelers mountain bike club (one of […]