Australia’s first gravel stage race, the Shimano Gravel Muster Stage Race, took place in the Red Centre from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th August 2024. The unique event mixed the experience that Rapid Ascent has of running stage races in the area, the boom in gravel riding, and a fun mix of racing and social stages – […]
Taking on the Shimano Gravel Muster in Alice Springs
Earlier this year Australian event promoters Rapid Ascent announced a new race in an ancient place; the Shimano Gravel Muster. As long-time hosts of the popular mountain bike stage race in Alice Springs known as The Redback, the event crew decided to bring their expertise in events to something new for Australia – a multi-day […]
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 […]
Easter eggs and rocks on day 2 of Easter in the Alice
Another 30minutes of sleep was welcome after yesterday’s blistering race. So at 6AM I was awake and ready to go, today’s race began at the old Telegraph Station, which was the first European settlement in Alice Springs in 1871! It connected Alice Springs with Adelaide and Brisbane via over-land telegram, pretty crucial to avoid the […]
The Redback brings racing back to Alice Springs
After a quiet year where few numbers where attached to handlebars, Rapid Ascent are have opened entries to the award-winning Redback MTB Stage Race, set to return to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (NT) on Friday 20 to Monday 23 August 2021. The Redback has had a couple of variants and names over the […]
The Redback gets revamped for 2020
The popular Redback MTB stage race is back for 2020 but it’s not a case of rolling out the old girl for another year, the multi-day event has had a significant makeover. With six stages and four days of mountain biking, The Redback returns to Alice Springs with a number of changes on and off […]
Course Records Blown Apart at The Redback 2019
Paul Van der Ploeg thumped the final right hand corner into the Mercure Hotel on Sunday morning in Alice Springs to claim his 5th stage win of the 2019 Redback and overall Redback Crown. And he smashed the course record by four minutes while he was at it—coming home in a tick over two hours. […]
Making memories at The Redback
Mountain bikes are a tool for fitness, a tool to earn a living (for some!), a method of self expression, a vehicle for transport, a way to blow off steam, a pride and joy, a travel buddy and usually a combination off all those things and more. In just the same way, a mountain bike […]
Riders race in honour of local legend on final day of Easter in the Alice 2019
The final stage of this years ‘Easter in the Alice’ was more than another 40km of fast, flowy desert racing it also marked a memorium for local MTB community organiser and former race director Paul Darvodelsky. Darvodelsky lived in Alice Springs for close to a decade drawn to the town from his native Sydney by […]
Easter in the Alice Day 2: Sprint finishes & short course gallops on windy day of racing
Day 2 of the Outback Cycling Easter in the Alice began in the backyard of the official race hotel and sponsor the Double Tree Hilton, Alice Springs. Meaning many riders whom were staying here were awarded a slightly extended sleep in and the ability to roll down the elevator and straight onto the start line. […]