The ABSA Cape Epic is the brute of the marathon stage race game. Plenty of events will claim to be the hardest, some claim the best trails, some claim the best event services – but there is no escaping the fact that the Cape Epic is the biggest of the bunch. As we have published […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – Stage Five
I think it’s probably time I admitted publicly that I completely underestimated how tough Appenninica MTB would be, but after 5 stages and an average elevation gain of 2500m per day so far, this ranks among the toughest stage races I’ve done. It also has some of the best trails. Let’s pause a moment to […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – Stage Four
Everything I have heard about the Appenninica MTB Stage Race over the past years has been positive. From the food, to the hospitality of the towns, the event crew, the event vibe and of course – the trails. Today’s stage from Fiumalbo to Fanano has probably been the best example so far for the trails. […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – Stage Three
Until just a few short hours ago, I believed that getting through the Queen stage of Appenninica MTB yesterday would leave me with smooth seas to sail right up until the end of the event. Imagine my surprise when I took a closer look at the profile for today’s stage 3 and saw that it […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – Stage Two
Stage Two of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race dawned with some cloud cover, but a very upbeat and friendly vibe in race HQ. No doubt after the heat of stage one, everyone was happy for less intense sun as we took on the Queen stage, riding 90km and ascending 3200m from Castelnovo ne’ Monti to […]
Selle Repente Artax GL mountain bike saddle – trail tested
Earlier this year I reached out to Selle Repente about testing one of their saddles. I wasn’t very aware of the entire range, but had seen a few athletes (Italian riders specifically) using them, and their designs looked intriguing. While I have moved to the flat, wide, short style of saddles over the past few […]
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 […]
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 […]
Catching up with the Convict 100
On May 6th, Max Adventure hosted another successful edition of the Convict 100, with the premier 100km distances being won by National XCM Champion Em Viotto and Joel Green. With 2022 being a wash out (what wasn’t?) the event had a bumper field of riders ready to tackle the 44km, 68km and 100km routes. There […]
Malevil Cup returns for 2023
The Malevil Cup is one of the most traditional and prestigious mountain bike marathons in the Czech Republic. In recent years, the bike marathon in northern Bohemia has hosted the European marathonchampionships, the national championships and the prestigious UCI MTB marathon series. In 2023 the Malevil Cup has a UCI C1 classification, which should attract […]