Five-time winner Ariane Lüthi (Team Spur) is eager to reclaim the Fairview Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge title that she won consecutively from 2011–2015. But the Swiss marathon champion will be up against the strongest field ever assembled at Saturday’s 121km point-to-point race, which is considered among the toughest one-day races in South Africa. A crash […]
Star Studded Line-Up for the Fairview Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge
South Africa’s traditional season opener, the Fairview Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge, takes place on Saturday the 21st of January. Along with a stellar field of local challengers, a number of European mountain biking stars are set to line-up for the 2017 edition. The race’s newly acquired UCI Status and its formidable reputation as the Hell […]
Lüthi and Morath to race Cape Epic together
After a thorough search, three-time Absa Cape Epic winner, Ariane Lüthi, has announced her new teammate to join her on Team Spur for the 2017 edition of the world’s most prestigious mountain bike stage race. Germany’s Adelheid Morath will support Lüthi’s attempt to become the only female rider to win four titles. Morath replaces Denmark’s […]
Sauser set to pin a number on at the Cape Epic
On the back of news that both Cadel Evans and George Hincapie will be racing the 2017 Cape Epic, we’ve now heard that Cape Epic legend Christoph Sauser will be back at the race in 2017 – despite retiring in 2015. What’s more, Sauser will be racing with Jaroslav Kulhavy, and they’re not coming to […]
2017 ABSA Cape Epic course is released
It’s a busy time of year for those planning big things in 2017. With the 2017 Transalp stage towns just announced, the organisers of the ABSA Cape Epic have just released the route for the 2017 race. While some might say that marathon stage races around the world have got a little softer… few would […]
Buying the right bike for marathon and stage racing
What bike should I buy for marathon racing? Or, what bike should I buy for… *enter a massive stage race here*? These are not uncommon questions for bike shop staff, and one that we get sent via email or social media quite frequently. The range of bikes continues to expand, as does the type and […]
Sauser returns to Cape Epic with Sipho Madolo
Christoph Sauser is an absolute legend in mountain biking, with performances that have dominated Olympic cross country, marathon racing, stage racing – and being an all-round mountain man on his infamous freeride tours. Although he officially retired after the XCM World Championships this year – no one seems to have told Sauser what that […]
Ariane Kleinhans: the Swiss mountain goat
Ariane Kleinhans has stood on the top step of the Cape Epic podium, and many South African and Swiss marathon races since beginning her international racing career in 2010. You would think that someone with this racing calibre would have people running around after her at the World Marathon Championships. However, the understated marathon specialist […]
Who can win the 2015 XCM World Championships?
The start lists for the 2015 XCM World Championships are out. The racing is barely 24 hours away. The climbs are big, the air is thing, and the Val Gardena is starting to throb with the low resting heart rates of some supremely fit individuals. For 2015, the UCI Cross Country Marathon (XCM) Mountain Bike World […]
The countdown to XCM Worlds in the Val Gardena
In Europe, the snow is slowly melting on the high passes, and some of the big guns of international marathon racing have been able to flex their muscles on home soil. Summer is coming! While Australia has a strong marathon racing scene, America has an impressive array of 100 miler races, and South Africa has […]