In Australia, The Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) XCO National Championships is the race that brings out all the big names. 2020 was no exception, with previous winners returning to defend their titles in Elite Men and Women, under 23 Men and Women, and other big names like Cam Ivory (2018 XCO, XCM, XCC champ), Brendan […]
Why should I go on a training camp?
Training camps have long been a part of the sport of cycling. At the high performance level and also for the recreational ‘weekend warrior’. But why spend money and time to go to a usually obscure location to ride your bike for a number of days? Wouldn’t spending time in the comforts of your own […]
Everything you need to know about the Appenninica Stage Race
Related Event: Apenninica MTB Stage Race
There’s a new kid on the block in the world of mountain bike stage races. This new 8 day stage race is held within the beautiful Emilia Romagna region in Italy. Running from 20-27 July, the race will cover 550km and 20000m of climbing. If you are familiar with other major mountain bike stage races […]
Pioneer Prologue-2018 event kicks off in challenging conditions
Related Event: The Pioneer
Cold. It was cold. We got up at 5:10am, which if you’ve just arrived from Australia feels a lot like 2:10am, and bolted some breakfast before heading for the first shuttle up to Coronet Peak, the ski station that towers above Queenstown and just happened to be under a whole lot of snow just a […]
What’s it like to race XCO World Champs? Imogen Smith reports on Lenzerheide
I may not be an XCO racer most of the time, and on paper my result was nothing to write home about, but unless I suddenly become a rockstar, nothing I do in my life will come close to the exhilaration of racing XCO World Championships in Lenzerheide. So what’s it like racing XCO World […]
Tour de Timor stage 5: Vaz and Ricardo wrap up emphatic GC victories
Related Event: Tour de Timor 2018
The final stage of the Tour de Timor finished on the tropical shores of the beautiful Timor Sea after another tough and elevation heavy 90km stage from the mid week camp in mountain village of Aileu. Now riders can relax in the comfort of their accommodation in the capital city Dili after a week of […]
Tour de Timor stage 4: Dramas for Vaz as Arnott takes stage!
Related Event: Tour de Timor 2018
Stage 4 lived up to its expectations as one of the toughest stages of this year’s tour. Without 1 significant, defining climb on the stage it was numerous climbs coupled with gnarly descents that tested all riders today. Overall race leader David Vaz was one rider who succumbed to troubles on one of the many […]
Imogen Smith: The ultimate comeback
It’s been quite some time since I’ve written a blog for MarathonMTB.com. Far too long, in fact, if you read the fine-print on my contract. But it’s not by accident. The last time I wrote just after National XCM Champs I managed to compose a cheery-ish, superficial post that sufficiently, I thought, masked the utter […]
Report: Imogen Smith at the 2018 Oceania Championships
I headed off to Oceania Champs on my own this year, a week after my 37th birthday. Last year was meant to be my last year racing XCO, but I had an accident and couldn’t, so this year I’m doing all the stuff I’d planned to before I hit the deck, making up for lost […]
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 […]