There’s a funny sense of relief when the last day of a stage race rolls around. Even when it’s been something you have planned for, anticipated, saved for and trained for – when you’re tired you are still ready for it to finish. And despite the Snow Bike Festival being a popular 4-day format of […]
Snow Bike Festival and a winter wonderland
Related Event: Snow Bike Festival
There are few days where everything that needs to fall into place, falls into place. It can happen on race days, it can happen on social rides, but even with the best preparation it doesn’t always happen. Having the the right mix of motivation, conditions, equipment and experiences does not always happen. I’m lucky that […]
Snow Bike Festival – climbing to powder
Related Event: Snow Bike Festival
The world of the Snow Bike Festival is really mixed. With about 150 riders from almost 20 different countries, it’s a really diverse mix of people. But you need to consider that there is also a highly diverse mix of ability too. From the UCI elite riders who are here not just for fun, but […]
Snow Bike Festival Prologue – a comedy of errors
Related Event: Snow Bike Festival
The Snow Bike Festival is the the first UCI S1 mountain bike stage race of the year, and also the only UCI race that is held on snow (although professional road racers might disagree some years when Paris-Nice gets hit hard by the weather!). With a home in the Swiss resort town of Gstaad, the […]
Preparing for the Snow Bike Festival
Related Event: Snow Bike Festival
The Snow Bike Festival has grown since inception a few short years ago, filling a gap in the UCI mountain bike calendar as a UCI S1 stage race, and also catering for the need for many of us to ride our bikes more often, in more places. Mountain bikes are a tool for travel, adventure, […]
Snow Bike Festival confirms UCI S1 status
The Snow Bike Festival has announced that it has once again received Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) accreditation and has been upgraded to a “Stage Race Class 1”, making it one of only 13 stage races worldwide to be classified this highly. This results in an increased prize purse and additional UCI points. The event will […]
Challenging climbs and big views at Gstaad Snow Bike Festival
Freezing cold met the riders at the start of the Snow Bike Festival in the middle of the picturesque Promenade in Gstaad. After the opening prologue, the first stage of the race took riders down the valley towards Saanen. Temperatures headed downwards as well, as riders had to endure -18°C in the shade, before embarking […]
Snow Bike Festival first UCI event on snow
Each year the UCI denotes which races will attract ranking points, and the guaranteed prize money that goes along with it. Races like the Swiss Epic and Cape Epic have earnt their ‘SHC’ (hors categorie stage race) ranking, and other stage races can be S1 or S2, depending on their difficulty. In 2017, the Snow […]
Snow Bike Festival stays in Gstaad
Today, the Snow Bike Festival has announced that it will stay in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad. Switzerland is already one of the leading destinations for mountain biking. With events like the Swiss Epic, Grand Raid, National Park Bike Marathon, the Lenzerheide World Cup, and now the Engadin Bike Giro showcasing the best of […]
Fat biking in Livigno
While some of us aren’t sure if fat bikes are a fad, fashion, or functional – lots of ski towns are getting onboard with them. They’re a great option to sit alongside other snow sports, and when the snow is a bit sparse for skiing or snowboarding, in can be great for fat biking. Livigno […]