Last week I set off to ride the Swiss Alpine Bike #1 MTB route, which runs across Switzerland from Scuol to Aigle (or Aigle to Scuol), covering 670km and 24700m of climbing. It is suggested to cover the route in 16 days, but I planned around 8, booked my accommodation on Booking.com and arrived in […]
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Alpine Bike #1 route in Switzerland – the preparation
I’m sitting on a train, travelling backwards on the way to Zurich. Every now and then I take a cursory glance at my bike bag near the train’s entry. My final destination today is Scuol, right in the east of Switzerland in the canton of Graubuenden. But this is far from my final destination on […]
Breck Epic Incoming
Tomorrow I’ll be racing the 2023 Breck Epic in one of the USA’s highest towns, Breckenridge, in central Colorado. Racing above 3,000m elevation for six days is a challenge I’ve been so hungry to try – but for the first time since my very first international XCM stage race ten years ago, I have no […]
Bike Check: Imogen Smith’s Factor Lando XC
For 2023, our team riders made the move to the recently released Factor Lando XC full-suspension frames. The bikes were released in 2022, one of two mountain bikes that Factor have designed and built. Given their place in the high end road, gravel and triathlon markets, it is no surprise that both the Factor Lando […]
6 reasons to ride The Redback this August
Mountain bike stage races and Alice Springs go together like red wine and cheese. The city in the centre of Australia has hosted mountain bike stage races for two decades, with riders visiting from the edges of the continent to ride the sweet singletrack in the red centre. In 2023 The Redback runs from 18-21 […]
9 things I learnt from an overnight bikepacking trip
This weekend I packed up my bike and a few key things and joined a mate for a bikepacking meet up, called the Jimna Escape. The concept is simple – everyone meets at Jimna Base Camp, which is a school in a timber town that has passed it’s use by date. So now the school […]
2023 Appennenica MTB course revealed
With the start date already set for Monday September 4, The 2023 Appennenica MTB stage race had the route revealed in February. It will be a challening 6 days, tacling 400km and about 14000m of climbing. This event has earnt a name for itself by having a demanding but beautiful route, and one where the […]
Belgian and Kenyan duo score Rwandan Epic win
The Rwandan Epic is a new face on the global mountain bike stage race circuit. Having first run earlier this year after some delays to get rolling, the second edition just finished on the November dates where the event has now found its home. The Belgian team of Jens Schuermans and Frans Claes, who won […]
Maxxis BIKE Transalp rated UCI S1 in 2023
In 2023, the OG of mountain bike stage races, Transalp, turns 25. To celebrate this milestone the race from 9-15 July will be listed as a UCI S1 event. This means riders who take part in the men’s and women’s categories can achieve ranking points. Race director Marc Schneider considers the step to list the […]
Absa Cape Epic 2023 Route: full analysis
The Absa Cape Epic route reveal is one of the most hotly awaited stories of the mountain bike stage racing calendar. With its well-deserved reputation as the hardest-fought and toughtest physical challenge on two wheels, we’ve been checking and rechecking our emails in anticipation of the 2023 route release – and here it is. By […]