On a day for the history books, the Otway Odyssey delivered another epic race of high quality, hard racing on Saturday 24 February, 2024 at the 18th edition of the event in Forrest, Victoria. The early starts saw the elite women onto the 100km course first, with a truly formidable line up. With World Cup star […]
Top Australian talent ready for Otway Odyssey
If you want a proving ground in the Australian endurance mountain biking scene, there’s no higher bar than a win, or even a podium, at the Otway Odyssey. The 18th edition of the Otway Odyssey MTB Marathon will take place on February 24, with the Great Otway Gravel Grind running on February 25. Event organisers […]
2024 Cape Epic route
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 […]
Otway Odyssey returns for 18th edition in 2024
If you think of mountain bike marathons in Australia, only a few come to mind as long-running events that still offer unique experiences for Australian mountain bikers or those visiting from further afield – and the Otway Odyssey is one of them. Event promoter Rapid Ascent have just announced that entries for the 2024 Otway […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – stage 6
The final stage Humans are great at forgetting pain. When we sign up for a stage race, we aren’t remembering the aching muscles, the stomach problems and nausea, the legs so swollen they barely fit into your jeans for the pasta party. We aren’t remembering that it’s not just the legs that hurt, but the […]
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 […]
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2023 – Stage One
The Appenninica MTB Stage Race launched in 2019 and is celebrating its 5th year now in 2023. This year rthe race lines up with 6 challenging stages in the Emilia Romagna region. After Scott Cornish raced abnd reported in 2020 and Gordon Wadsworth did the same in 2021 – it was time for Imogen Smith […]