Amongst stage race aficionados, the Iron Bike is known as the race for the hardiest riders – and those who like to walk. But what that also brings is access to amazing terrain at high altitude in the Italian Alps, and memories few will forget in a hurry. The Iron Bike is over for Ramses […]
Ramses Bekkenk in 3rd at Iron Bike
Ramses Bekkenk keeps scoring third places in Iron Bike as he finished that position in stage four, five and six. Because parts of the route are timed and in between you ride at a gentler place the bikers are most of the day out on their own. The days are very long. On Wednesday for example, […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Finishing Iron Bike – sign me up again!
Stage 8 (Final Day): 60km. 2700m ascent. Maximum time limit: 6.5hrs. Time taken: 4hrs 5min Like many other stage races, Iron Bike finishes with a relatively easy day. That is, easy compared to the rest of the week and not just a walk in the park! In the book it was 55km with 3 major climbs and 3 descents. […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike Stages 6 and 7
Stage 6: 90km. 4100m ascent. Maximum time limit: 12hrs. Time taken: 7hrs 06min Today I slept through my alarm for the first time, tiredness has reached a new level and writing this at 6pm I feel like crashing out, but with just 2 days left I hope I can keep things together. Despite sleeping at 1000m it was still […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Settling into Iron Bike
Stage 5: 80km, 3500m ascent (not including chairlift). Maximum time limit: 12hrs. Time taken: 7hrs 40min The longer this race goes on, the harder the recovery becomes, especially after a hard stages it can be really difficult to get everything needed done as well as getting enough sleep. I don’t think I would even consider doing Iron Bike without […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike stages 3 and 4
Stage 3: 68km, 1270m ascent. Maximum time limit: 13hrs. Time taken: 5hrs 25min Looking at the route map it looked like an easy day, just one climb and a long descent. I know this race better than to expect an easy day and the 11 maximum time limit was a clue that this was not an easy stage. The […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike
Iron Bike Prologue & Stage 1 This year the prologue was the same format as last year, an urban crit around the start town of Limone Piemonte. It means very little for the overall, other than handing out the leaders jerseys. Its a great way to get the town involved and held at 8pm when […]