It can be a lonely experience racing in Europe no matter who you are, but especially so as an Aussie or Kiwi. We travel thousands of kilometres by ourselves, to the opposite side of the world, to race usually alone, with little contact with our family and friends back home. So it’s been a great […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Seven
What the hell just happened? How did an 8 day stay in Livigno just about come to an end? It seems like so recently that we arrived in Livigno, anticipating epic rides, amazing food, crazy Italians, thin air and mountain scenery. For the most part – Livigno delivered. While we didn’t have seven days of […]
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 […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Five
Sitting here on an early Saturday evening, I just realised this is the longest I have spent in Livigno at one time. While in 2013 I came and visited for about 4 nights, headed off to race Dolomiti Superbike, then came back again for another four or five nights, this would be the longest consecutive […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Four
As Mike and I have been watching the weather forecast like the vital signs of a dying man, we knew today would be a great day to have off. But imagine my disappointment when, after the jubilant excesses of yesterday’s climb to the top of Livigno’s mountains, I woke up again with a painfully sore, […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Three
It’s out third full day up in Livigno, and after Imogen and I went our different ways yesterday, we regrouped for one of the other highly popular activities in Livigno – shopping! It wasn’t a mega spending spree, but we did both buy some headbands, so we could feel the part in the high mountains. […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day Two
Mike and I were always going to go our separate ways in Livigno. For Mike, this is a special place overlaid with memories of gypsyish Euro-tripping bikefests of day-long, epic rides over high passes and into wild valleys, all of which he wants to relive. For me, this is the last chance to get in […]
Livigno Training Camp: Day One
Livigno is many things. It is a duty free shopping hub, an alpine town that is popular for snow sports, a farming village that has had rapid change – and an ever-growing base for altitude training. From runners, cross-country skiers, road cyclists, mountain bikers and more, Livigno offers about 1800m base elevation, with quiet trails, […]
Alta Valtellina Bike Marathon returns
How do deep blue lakes, historic sites and the impressive panorama of huge mountains such as the Ortler-Cevedale sound? These things are almost as important as the actual mountain biking itself when the Alta Valtellina Bike Marathon is on the agenda. On Saturday, July 29, the route will take athletes to an altitude of 2,350 metres, on […]
Transalp rides the roof in Bormio
It only takes one summer in the European Alps to realise what a fantasy it is to traverse the alps by bike. It is a need that drives thousands of ambitious cyclists onto the trails to cross Europe’s highest mountains. The BIKE Transalp leads mountain bikers through the Alps from July 17th to 23rd; racing for seven days and […]