The hub for marathon mountain biking
In between my XCO racing for this year, I decided to give stage racing another go after my first attempt in 2012. Back then, I did the Trans Germany MTB stage race and failed miserably, grovelling through the majority of stages and vowing to never return unless I was fully prepared. It really was quite […]
Apart from a few tears of joy, mountain bike racing only made me cry once this year. After our Australian XCM National Champs in Tasmania in April. I’d worked incredibly hard on my fitness for Nationals and thought the course, with a very long climb to be covered twice, would suit me perfectly. On race […]
For this past weekend, I decided to book in a double header with an XCO race on Saturday and the Saarschleifen Half Marathon on Sunday. The XCO was my main focus but with the Vaude Trans Schwarzwald stage race fast approaching, I wanted to see how my body would react to hard racing days back […]
You know what’s involved, sweating, swearing, a swirling stomach tempting to eject breakfast with each passing second. The indoor trainer is a choice for some but a necessity for others at times when the outside can be even more hostile! So it’s raining outside, you only have time for an hour ride before you need […]
Living in Australia we are thankfully not constrained by the weather in winter. Extremely uncomfortable, maybe, but usually the worst is some driving rain or a freezing headwind. But for those living in less forgiving climates, wintertime can make riding outside near impossible. With heavy snow covering the ground, the only way to get some […]
Phil Welch is a well known masters athlete in Australia, with great results across events as far reaching as stage races in Poland, solo 24hr races, and the Crocodile Trophy. A recent broken wrist hasn’t really slowed him down – here’s Phil’s take on how to get the most out of training indoors, due to […]
In the first part of this series I talked about using online training tools to coach yourself. This time I’m going to discuss training yourself from scratch. This year I’ve thrown myself in the deep end, but not without a lot of preparation. Here’s what I found most useful. Know the Basics Before you start […]
Interested in coaching yourself? Over two posts Imogen Smith takes you through your options In law they have a saying (sometimes attributed to Abraham Lincoln) that the attorney who represents himself in court has a fool for a client… So if you decide to write your own program for your next mountain bike marathon, how […]
I’m lucky here in Australia to be able to ride outdoors year-round, but each summer I’m reminded that the main winter sport for my cousins from the Northern Hemisphere is not cyclocross or snow-shoeing, but the solitary abuse of the home trainer in their lonely basements, garages and – for those lucky enough to live […]
For a body designed to run around in an upright position chasing mountain lions, cycling is a pretty out there concept. Sitting hunched over, neck out and pedalling circles is far from natural. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the body makes changes so that your cycling position becomes more sustainable. […]
