Having a good day on the bike is a brilliant experience. You rail corners, you feel good on the climbs, there are no wrong turns, and the weather is great. Having a good day on the bike while racing is a more unique experience, especially when it’s in a paired stage race. Yesterday was a […]
Transalp mixed: Be careful what you wish for
The first stage of Transalp had a simple enough profile. Two big climbs then a 40km false flat section. But simple profile graphics, these things you use to get your head around the coming day, to prepare, they don’t mean much in the dust and the gravel and when you’re surrounded by 40 or 50 […]
Nienke’s Euro Blog: Xterra France – A Charbonniers Charm
I endured a little hiccup on the train in Switzerland where I was oblivious to the fact that there are trains where bike’s are forbidden and almost ended up with 150 Euro fine and a night in jail! I confused the guard by telling them I was from Australia but presenting a Dutch passport. The […]
Transalp: Building rapport before the race
Part of getting older and more experienced with your riding and racing is recognising your habits and patterns. Be they good or bad, at least when you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses it’s easier to work with or around them. I’m a creature of habit, and from the outside it would seem like […]
Nienke’s Euro Blog: Racing Xterra Switzerland
Many thoughts can take over your mind when preparing for a big race, I believe female athletes might be slightly more extreme in falling into this negative spiral of doubts. “Am I good enough, did I train hard enough, do I belong here, do I look fit enough, will I get smashed, what if I […]
Alpine Roadtrips: All Hail the Vehicle!
The reasons and desires that push me towards road trips with my mountain bike are often not truly realised, and sometimes irrational to onlookers. More on this later in the week. Since 2007 I have spent between 5 and 15 week blocks in Europe, living out of a ‘suitcase’. Truth be told it has more […]
Final Preparation : The Shimano GP 4 at Ourimbah
It’s time to pack. It’s time to let all last month’s efforts sink in. It’s time to get on a plane, to go to Europe and face the music. It’s time to believe. It’s time to race. I have worked extremely hard the last month, on my swimming, my riding, my running. I have been […]
How to: Stepping up a gear
What does it take to step up from racing for fun to getting right up there with the big names of marathon mountain bike racing? 1- The bike Lose some weight. You’ll need a bike that doesn’t put much more than 10 kg on the scale, maybe a little bit more if you go for […]
I got fondo’d at the Dirty Gran Fondo
As I wrote earlier in the Dirty Melbourne article, the Dirty Gran Fondo is an enduro (gran fondo) on the dirt roads (dirty) in and around Wandong, Victoria. Together with another 250 riders, teammate Mike Blewitt and I lined up for the second edition of this event. We arrived in Wandong around 6 am, […]
ICME MTB Enduro : Stage 4: A Marathon with an orientering leg
There are always a lot of stories after a Mountain bike race, about the terrain, the course, the tactics, lines being taken, lines being missed. Sometimes you wonder if it is the same race they are talking about. The talk of yesterday’s stage was Kyle Ward finishing the last 30km without being able […]