Ever since Shimano XTR M9000 and XTR Di2 were released in 2014, riders, bike mechanics, and tech gurus have been weighing up the benefits and disadvantages of each system. And this has also involved, quite literally, weighing the components of each system as well. I have been a long-time user of Shimano’s XTR components, with […]
Mixing it Up at the Port Hills Classic
The Port Hills Classic was scheduled for March 2017 as a 30th anniversary of mountain bike racing on Christchurch’s Port Hills. Then, in February, this happened: Rescheduled to April, the event went charging ahead at the trails of Halswell Quarry. While the original Port Hills Classics had, in various forms, consisted of riding various forms […]
Extra 200 Places for the Craters Classic
There’s no better way to finish a MTB race than soaking in a thermal hot tub. Well, possibly soaking in a thermal hot-tub with a rather nice frothy amber-coloured beverage in hand. And that’s part of the appeal of the Craters Classic. The Craters Classic – scheduled for 11th June 2017 – has just opened another […]
Kafka wins 2017 Convict 100
Related Event: Convict 100 - Sydney's marathon mountain bike race
St Albans is a sleepy town on the banks of the MacDonald River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River about 2hrs drive north of Sydney. Settled in 1842 it doesn’t see a lot of heavy traffic other that 1 weekend in May for the Convict 100. Due to the location from Sydney, many opt to […]
Woolcock and Kruger cruise to maiden Winelands triumph
Seasoned professionals Waylon Woolcock and HB Kruger captured the overall title in the three-day Liberty Winelands Encounter mountain bike race at their first attempt today after setting the pace from day one. Using the same strategy as before, the BCX duo were again able to build up a lead during the first half of the 48km […]
Wrapping up the Tour of Portugal
I feel like I’ve learnt a lot this past week in the Portugal MTB Tour, in particular about how my body reacts to consecutive days of racing. Racing in a two man team has shown me that I have the mentality to follow orders during a race rather than being impulsive. It’s also confirmed that I […]
Jolanda Neff targets XCM repeat in Singen
Jolanda Neff has announced her start at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champions in Singen. On 25th of June, the Swiss mountain bike star wants to use the experience she made, when she lost the finish at the European championships at the Hegau Bike Marathon in 2015 and defend the world title she won in […]
The Convict 100 – the marathon that doesn’t make sense
Related Event: Convict 100 - Sydney's marathon mountain bike race
At the start of this year, we published a post outlining the ingredients that make for a great marathon MTB race. One of the stand out components is the route – it needs to be challenging and interesting, and you’d also expect there to be singletrack. So how come, the Convict 100 has no singletrack, and […]
Cory Wallace’s take on El Reto del Quetzal
Every day at the El Reto del Quetzal stage race across central Guatemala had a memorable theme to it. Guatemala is a special country and the event is a top tier race with its organisation, challenging courses and amazing topography. It’s pretty rad they can link together so many cool trails, dirt roads and random steps […]
Stenerhag targets success at Liberty Winelands Encounter
Newly crowned Cape Epic champion Jennie Stenerhag is gearing up for what she believes will be another world-class experience at the Liberty Winelands Encounter. The 41-year-old Swedish ace partnered Swiss rider Esther Süss to victory in the Epic at the weekend and will now switch her focus to the three-day Winelands race, presented by STANLIB, […]