The most important thing to remember about a race like Transalp is that there is NEVER an easy day.. today was a mere 73km on paper (very sociable compared to yesterdays 100km and the preceding days of 87km and 97km) but the fine print includes a 30km climb from around 32km to 62km taking us […]
Search Results for: stage race
Transalp 2014 stage 3 “The Queen Stage”
Firstly, I will have to up-speed on the events of stage 2 (yesterdays stage from Imst to Nauders) Stu and I were otherwise occupied and failed to log a full report. Stage 2 started in Imst, in the rain and the rain continued for the entire stage… Stu and I rode well (to clarify […]
Western Australia’s New Premiere Endurance MTB Race Launched
From 2 May to 9 May 2015, in the pristine Southern Forests of Western Australia, the inaugural 2 Oceans MTB Race will be held. Race organisers Chris Neal and Charles Biddle have built the 8-stage, 618 km race all around the rider experience and plan to attract everyone from international pros to local weekend warriors. […]
Sauser shows XCM Worlds form with Stage win at Bike Four Peaks
Christoph Sauser has won the opening stage of the 2014 Protective BIKE Four Peaks which raced over 76.61 km and 2,281 metres in elevation gain from Leogang to Lofer. After 2:48.08,2 hours the defending champion edged out Markus Kaufmann and Kristian Hynek in a sprint finish. The Swiss Specialized racer capitalised on a smart manoeuvre performed right […]
Riding Australia’s Red Heart – ICME Stages 2 & 3
Just because it’s the desert doesn’t mean its flat, and Alice Springs has one tough climb on its western edge: Anzac Hill. It’s not very long – only a few hundred metres of sealed road, but the gradient boots up to about 26%, and averages about 12%. Stage 2 of ICME, yesterday evening, had us […]
Riding Australia’s Red Heart – ICME Stage 1
Bearing in mind that a lot of MarathonMTB.com readers are from all around the world, and that many Australians don’t know where Alice Springs is anyway, I thought I’d start this series of blogs about Alice Spring’s biggest MTB event with this fascinating geography primer. Skip ahead a few paragraphs if you just want the […]
Absa Cape Epic 2014 stage 7 – it’s all over
Related Event: ABSA Cape Epic
The Absa Cape Epic is over for another year. If you’ve been riding, there are a lot of things you’re going to miss. And if you haven’t, there are a lot of things you have missed, but fear not, because entries just opened for next year… Things you’re going to miss The sheer simplicity of […]
Absa Cape Epic Stage 6 – two things that need to work: the team and the stomach
Related Event: ABSA Cape Epic
This week has demonstrated just how many things need to work in order to reach the end of an event as tough as the Absa Cape Epic. Obviously your legs need to keep on stomping; but assuming you’ve done the right training, you should be OK. Your bike needs to hold up; which means you […]
Absa Cape Epic 2014 Stage 5 – the queen
Related Event: ABSA Cape Epic
While Tuesday’s 134k was a long enough day, today was undoubtedly the queen stage of the 2014 Absa Cape Epic. And it contained some classic Epic ingredients: the remote Groenlandberg climb and the formidable “Rusty Gate”; 115k; heat (although mercifully not the full oven treatment) and sunshine; more great mountain views. On a tough stage […]
Absa Cape Epic 2014 Stage 4 – the one that makes it all worthwhile
Related Event: ABSA Cape Epic
The riders at the Absa Cape Epic have had a real rollercoaster over the last few days. Stage 2 was so muddy that an ‘easy’ stage turned into a bit of a monster, and Stage 3 involved so much wind that a long 134k stage was made even more arduous than it would have been […]