The hub for marathon mountain biking
Waking on the blustery shores of Lake Tinaroo today was pretty special. The Crocodile Trophy is many things – but it’s often known for the wrong things. Much commentary online has been made about yesterday’s stage and a mistake with course marking – where vehicles couldn’t access the middle section of the course. Few of […]
Due to heavy rainfall and snow in upper areas, Stage 3 of the Perskindol Swiss Epic route has been adjusted. Instead of individual starts on the mountain at the Rinderhütte, the race started in blocks in Leukerbad, so that it all took place earlier and in lower areas. The adjusted route covered 42 km, with […]
Another day, another change in the race lead at the 2017 Perskindol Swiss Epic! The crossing of the bungee swinging bridge at Niouc with a 200 metre high view of the canyon floor was today’s highlight for most riders – and for some, the biggest challenge of the day. This was no problem for the […]
Last year when Queensland’s biggest and oldest MTB marathon, the Flight Centre Epic rolled around, I had recently returned from World XCM Championships and had had some time off. It had also been raining. The prospect of pedalling through thick black mud for five hours held little attraction for me, and Mike and I sat that […]
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 […]
If you think of all the sports in all the world, from archery to zorb football, then divide all these sports into their different disciplines, so that gymnastics becomes parallel bars, pommel horse, the rings, beam, and so on, you’d have what – a couple thousand? I can lay these sports end to end on […]
With an incessant, pounding rain in the Nomad ger camp in Mongolia the night before stage 5 much of the bunch were feeling apprehensive about this shorter but very difficult stage. The rain added an extra element of stress to what was already shaping up to be a brutal and decisive stage in this years […]
I woke this morning on day two of The Redback in Alice Springs to what I thought was a truck reversing into my hotel room. Turns out the wind had blown up overnight and was roaring through the courtyard of the Mercure, shaking the ghost gums and kicking up sand. It brought cooler weather, with […]
Stages 3 and 4 of Mongolia Bike Challenge 2017 have now been run and won. With plenty of drama taking place over the past 2 days we now have a change in leadership for both the women’s and the men’s category. I last wrote reporting on the ‘queen stage’ of this year’s race, however now […]
Stage 2 of the Mongolia Bike Challenge for 2017 was dubbed the ‘Queen stage’ for this year’s edition. Indicating that it is regarded as the most difficult of the race. Upon conversation with riders everyone fully agrees that they hope dearly there is no stage more difficult than today! Day two in Mongolia Many broken […]
