The Port Hills Classic was scheduled for March 2017 as a 30th anniversary of mountain bike racing on Christchurch’s Port Hills. Then, in February, this happened: Rescheduled to April, the event went charging ahead at the trails of Halswell Quarry. While the original Port Hills Classics had, in various forms, consisted of riding various forms […]
Kafka wins 2017 Convict 100
Related Event: Convict 100 - Sydney's marathon mountain bike race
St Albans is a sleepy town on the banks of the MacDonald River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River about 2hrs drive north of Sydney. Settled in 1842 it doesn’t see a lot of heavy traffic other that 1 weekend in May for the Convict 100. Due to the location from Sydney, many opt to […]
Transylvanian Experience: Faget UCI XCM Series
Related Event: Faget Marathon - UCI XCM Series
As a semi professional racer I have limited opportunities to travel due to other work commitments, I have limited sponsorship resources, for these and other reasons its crucial to make the most of every race weekend. When issues occur like teammates being ill or bike mechanical it’s incredible frustrating but when race organisers let you and […]
Who can win the 2017 Australian Marathon Championships?
Related Event: Australian XCM Championships - UCI XCM Series
The elite titles for Australia’s 2017 Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) Championship are set to be decided on 30th April. For this year, the XCM Champs have travelled north to Townsville, being run in conjunction with the Townsville MTB Festival for this year and 2018. Townsville is home of the Townsville Rockwheelers mountain bike club (one of […]
Sometimes, it’s all about the Scenery: the Contact Lake Hawea Epic
On moving to NZ, one of the first races I looked at was the Contact Energy Lake Hawea Epic. Promising a lap of a moraine lake in a glacial tarn, stunning alpine South Island scenery, multiple river crossings and access to normally inaccessible trails, it proved a tempting proposition. In its tenth year, the race […]
Crash course: Imogen Smith on her season-ending accident
Related Event: Australian XCM Championships
Seven weeks ago, I had a big crash in a women’s criterium that ended my racing season before it really began. Early in the final 200m sprint, where I was sitting in the top 10 (I thought I’d be safe there), there was a surge from behind and riders moved sideways. It took the girl […]
The AMB100 – a race that has come of age
Rocky Trail Entertainment have a vast array of events, and play a key role in others. Their Shimano MTB GP Series has helped plenty of riders get the taste for competitive events, and are a proving ground for endurance riders around New South Wales and the ACT. But their lap-based marathon race at Mt Stromlo, […]
Woolcock and Kruger cruise to maiden Winelands triumph
Seasoned professionals Waylon Woolcock and HB Kruger captured the overall title in the three-day Liberty Winelands Encounter mountain bike race at their first attempt today after setting the pace from day one. Using the same strategy as before, the BCX duo were again able to build up a lead during the first half of the 48km […]
Wrapping up the Tour of Portugal
I feel like I’ve learnt a lot this past week in the Portugal MTB Tour, in particular about how my body reacts to consecutive days of racing. Racing in a two man team has shown me that I have the mentality to follow orders during a race rather than being impulsive. It’s also confirmed that I […]
Jolanda Neff targets XCM repeat in Singen
Jolanda Neff has announced her start at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champions in Singen. On 25th of June, the Swiss mountain bike star wants to use the experience she made, when she lost the finish at the European championships at the Hegau Bike Marathon in 2015 and defend the world title she won in […]