For anyone following the World Cup cross-country racing this year, you will have seen XCO phenom (and 2016 XCM World Champion) Jolanda Neff racing on a new full-suspension bike. There’s nothing totally crazy about that, but until the racing at the UCI XCO World Championships in Canada on the weekend, the shock and linkage on […]
Racing the Appenninica MTB stage race
The Appenninica MTB stage race may be the new kid on the block, but it has all the ingredients to firmly establish itself in the European stage race calendar. The brainchild of Milena Bettocchi and Beppe Salerno, they bring their wealth of knowledge of running cycling holidays across the region of Emilia Romagna. Combining their […]
Swiss Epic 2019 Stage 5
The final stage of the Swiss Epic, stage 5, took the race in full circle, back to Davos. Covering 64 kilometres and 2,350m of climbing, the stage promised no easy finale, with a number of challenging climbs. MarathonMTB.com’s day at the Swiss Epic With one day to go and over 6 minutes lead, Imogen and […]
Swiss Epic 2019 Stage 3
Every race has one, and today was the Swiss Epic’s Queen Stage. The most demanding, most emotional, hardest stage of the race. Today took in 80km and 2,200m of climbing, and while on paper this may look easier than other stages (think stage 1, with 3,000m climbing), the technicality of today’s trails, and the repeated, […]
Swiss Epic 2019 Stage 2
The Swiss Epic’s second stage presented us with a grand tour of St Moritz, the iconic ski town of luxury shops and private jets. So it was kindof a shame to see two hundred bikers tramp through reception in filthy gear yesterday and pretty much ruin the carpet at our lovely hotel, but nobody seemed […]
Swiss Epic 2019 Stage 1
Last time I came to the Swiss Epic was in 2015 and the event was based in the Valais region, with the route taking us from Verbier to Zermatt. This year, the fifth year of the race, the Swiss Epic roadshow has left the Valais region for the first time and headed to Graubuenden – […]
Ahead of the Swiss Epic 2019
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 […]
Training For the Crocodile Trophy
The Crocodile Trophy has been through many variations over its 25 year history. From an utter gruelling misery march across Australia to a shorter stage race focusing on singletrack racing. The modern Crocodile Trophy offers a complete MTB experience for all styles of riders from the old school hardened racer who wants to hammer out […]
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 […]