I have often said that the day before a stage race can be as hard as a race itself. And even with planning, today was not without stress. The Swiss Epic starts tomorrow, and as I’m about to set off for some dinner in Davos, it seems like there has been little time to rest […]
Australian XCM World Championships Team for 2019 announced
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) have just released the complete team list for the 2019 UCI Cross Country Marathon (XCM) World Championships, which will be taking place in Graechen, in the Valais canton in Switzerland. The team will be made up of five riders in 2019, including two members of the MarathonMTB.com Team. Elite MenJustin MorrisSebastian […]
How to prepare for a MTB Stage Race
The 2019 Swiss Epic stage race is just around the corner, and like any major mountain bike stage race, there is quite a bit of preparation that is involved in arriving at the start line ready to race. Here’s a look at what Imogen Smith and I have been doing to get ready, along with […]
Final Stage of Port to Port delivers singletrack heaven in Newcastle
Revered as some of the finest singletrack in the country the Port to Port have made a conscious effort to string together one of the funnest stages of any MTB stage race in Australia. Riders were spared any long significant hill climbs today much to the relief of most riders after the brutal climb of […]
Johnston and Mattocks win 15th Convict 100
The Convict 100 mountain bike marathon has now well and truly established itself as a classic and reliable staple on the Australian XCM calendar. The race originally called the Dirt Works Classic was first run in 2004 making it one of the oldest continuously running marathons in Australia. A very similar course has been used […]
Remembering why at The Willo
Everyone in the MTB community looks forward to The Willo. It’s a cool track, it’s close to home for lots of us, and it’s a chance to stop and remember a really, really great person. James Williamson was the guy at races who always had time to stop and say hi, and smile, and chat, […]
Imogen Smith’s Otway Odyssey recap
I’ve never done the Otway Odyssey – weird, because it’s one of Australia’s best-known races. There’s just always been some clash that’s kept me away in the past, so this year was my first go. A few aspects of the race sounded pretty interesting to me: It’s known for its longclimbs, crazy good singletrack, and […]
One year on Nextie NXT29AS30 carbon wheels
Last November we previewed the build of some Nextie NXT29AS30 rims that would be the new race wheels for MarathonMTB.com Team racer Imogen Smith. Having raced on NoTubes Valor rims for over three seasons, then spent some time on an earlier generation of 30mm Nextie rims, Imogen knew she wanted something wider than the Valors, […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Six
The rain, which Accuweather tauntingly promised us would clear up today, stuck around so resolutely that by 9am it was clear to me that I was going to need something special. I marched Mike up the road, in the freezing drizzle, to a pasticceria and forced him to order me a filled croissant, then, when […]
Testing the legs on day 3 of the Rothaus Bike Giro
Related Event: Rothaus Bike Giro Hochschwarzwald
You know it’s a bike race when you hear a drone buzzing overhead and a dirt bike kick starts behind you. Standing on a sharp upward slope beneath an enormous Rothaus beer inflatable arch, in start block D is where my Rothaus Bike Giro finally got underway, after a start to our 2018 European trip […]