Eleven years on from the inaugural FNB Wines2Whales many things in mountain biking have changed. One remains constant however, the sport’s iconic stage race’s commitment to continual route refinements. Every year has seen new singletrack added and old trails reworked and perfected. 2019 is no different. Winter in the Western Cape is trail building time. […]
Johnston and Harris win 2019 Australian XCM titles
On a glorious winter’s day in Brisbane, Brendan Johnston won his 4th cross-country marathon (XCM) title and Holly Harris won her first. After the 2019 National Championships were moved from Townsville to Redland Bay, there was a chance that the fields of the elite marathons would be a little deeper than otherwise. And that rang […]
Who can win the 2019 Australian XCM elite titles?
The 2019 Australian Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) Championships had a date and location shift from Townsville to Redland Bay this year. Those riders who were targeting the race in May needed to cool their heels and wait until June, as Rats Cycling Club put up their hands to take on the title and build it into […]
First rides on Shimano XTR M9100
About 12 months ago, Shimano released a much-anticipated version of XTR – the new 12-speed M9100. It offered what so many people wanted – a wider range from Shimano, and they delivered with a 10-51 cassette. But they also delivered a 10-45 cassette, 4-pot XTR Trail brakes and a lighter Race brake, a new crank […]
Swiss Epic release their 2019 route
The Swiss Epic is the European cousin in the global Epic Series, and under that larger umbrella it has taken a slightly different shape. The Flow category is gone, and the 6 day race is now 5 days, with no opening prologue. But while those changes were already in effect in 2018, the big change […]
Malevil Cup attracts World Champs and Olympians
The 20th edition of the legendary Malevil Cup – UCI MTB marathon series will take place on 8 June 2019. Routes going through the forests of the Lusatian and Zittau Mountains will host mountain bikers from all over the world. At this moment bikers from many European countries but also from United Arab Emirates are […]
First rides on the 2020 Norco Revolver
The Norco Revolver FS has been the bike of choice for the MarathonMTB.com Team since 2016. After we finished racing on Bianchi mountain bikes when they were no longer available in Australia, we needed a bike that climbed well, was light, and easy to service. The Norco Revolver 29 FS was all those things, with […]
Schurter and Forster claw back time at the Cape Epic
Crashes in both the leading teams at the Absa Cape Epic could not unseat either from the top of the overall standings, but the top men did have their lead more than halved during Thursday’s 43km Time Trial stage at Oak Valley. Minor crashes for Annika Langvad from Investec-songo-Specialized, the leading Women’s category team, and […]
Cannondale Factory Racing take Cape Epic lead
Much speculation had been made around a clean-sweep of wins for the men’s Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing and women’s Investec-songo-Specialized pairs ahead of Stage 3’s 107km out-and-back loop from Oak Valley Estate in Elgin; but this is the Absa Cape Epic and it’s not often that a story can be concluded prior to the crossing of the […]
Bike Check: Nino Schurter’s Scott Spark for the 2019 Cape Epic
Nino Schurter is lining up for his 6th Cape Epic, and after a less than ideal race in 2018, he will be out to make amends in 2019. A last minute change sees the flying Swiss racing with Lars Forster, not Andri Frischknecht. Andri was struggling with some health issues at the team camp in […]