The Victorian regional city of Bendigo again put on a show hosting one of the highest regarded XCM races in Australia. In 2019 the marathon has been recognised as a ‘tier 1’ event in the MTBA national cup. Meaning the highest offering of national ranking points was on offer to the riders in the 100km […]
XCO National Series Round 3 and 4 – inferno on the Commonwealth Games Course
I arrived early for Round Three of the Australian XCO National Series at the Commonwealth Games course at Nerang and watched the junior men race. By 8:30am it was already over 32 degrees and very, very humid. The field was completely devastated by the heat, many youths ending up in the first aid tent. I […]
Take a look at the stages for Lasseters Easter in the Alice
There is a time and a place for stages races to be long, epic stages back to back. But thankfully, that’s not what Lasseters Easter in the Alice is about. The three days of mountain bike racing in Alice Springs is a mix of a long marathon, with two shorter days filled with challenging, hand-built […]
All Orange no lemon
It’s always exciting to see a National Series kick off. It signals the beginning of summer, and a time when riders can start to measure their form against the best and work out their goals and plans for the rest of the season. It’s a time to get some payback for all the pre-season training […]
2018 Australian XCM Series revealed
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) have just confirmed the dates and venues for the 2018 National XCM Series. Next year the series is trimmed down to five events, including the National Championship, in a bid to have more riders attend more of the series, according to MTBA CEO Shane Coppin. “We really hope this condensed series […]
National XCO Racers back up in Armidale
Armidale’s University of New England campus hosted its second round of the National XCO Series today on a day that began with perfect sunny skies but gave way to brief storms in the afternoon. Today’s track included some elements of yesterday’s course, with the same start loop and a few early trails in common, but […]
Henderson and Ivory conquer Armidale
Armidale, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane in the northern tablelands of NSW, hosts this weekend’s Australian XCO National Series double header (rounds three and four). Double-headers are appearing more and more frequently on the XCO calendar in Australia, a welcome strategy for keeping costs down as riders travel immense distances to race in our largely empty […]
MTBA announces 2016 Cyclocross National Series
Cyclocross has become the lost cousin in Australian cycling. If you’re reading this somewhere outside of the world’s largest island, you’ll probably be chuckling, wondering how cyclocross races can run in Australia. Do we have to race kangaroos? Wrestle a sheep? Is it too hot? Do we even have mud? While I can attest that […]
National XCM Series goes out with a Blast
Waking up in your own bed on race day is a pretty rare thing, and this weekend’s Bayview Blast, held just 45 minutes from my Brisbane home, was the first national-level race this year that’s afforded me the privilege. On the other hand, being pretty spoiled for good singletrack really close to home (about a […]
Australian National series heads to East Gippsland
The MTBA National Series isn’t that far off, and with one of the early rounds unconfirmed, it’s exciting to hear that a venue has now been announced after the You Yangs dropped off the list a month ago. Mount Taylor in East Gippsland, Victoria, will co-host the round with Mountain Bike Australia from the 27-29th […]