Eleven years on from the inaugural FNB Wines2Whales many things in mountain biking have changed. One remains constant however, the sport’s iconic stage race’s commitment to continual route refinements. Every year has seen new singletrack added and old trails reworked and perfected. 2019 is no different. Winter in the Western Cape is trail building time. […]
Cory Wallace in Costa Rica
Trans Costa Rica is a 4 day UCI S2 stage race in its 3rd edition which includes 3 marathon stages and a time trial up a Volcano. Costa Rica is a mountain bikers paradise with its mountainous terrain, tropical climate and very friendly and enthused mountain bike culture. This World Class event is the perfect showcase of […]
Paez and Michiels win 1st stage of 2019 Alpentour Trophy
The Alpentour Trophy is a four day mountain bike stage race that calls the Schladming-Dachstein region home. Known for demanding climbs, the racing is pretty hot at the front, given how close the stage race sits to the XCO World Cup. The 2019 edition has attracted a strong line-up with many defending champions putting a […]
The Return of the Trans-Sylvania Epic
Updates to a Winning Format For nearly a decade the Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race pitched the United States’ best amateur and professional racers against some of the most challenging terrain in North America. The Epic has taken several forms with a clover-leaf format departing the Seven Mountain Boy Scout camp in central Pennsylvania being the […]
Racing bikes in the beautiful Ardennes – Belgian Mountainbike Challenge 2019
Belgian Mountainbike Challenge has become a yearly highlight for me and many other enthusiastic racers. The Ardennes are undeniably beautiful, a rolling range of green wooded hills hold a plethora of rooty and rocky descents. Whilst spectacular it can be a cruel place for a bike race with super steep climbs, the worst being the […]
Swiss Epic release their 2019 route
The Swiss Epic is the European cousin in the global Epic Series, and under that larger umbrella it has taken a slightly different shape. The Flow category is gone, and the 6 day race is now 5 days, with no opening prologue. But while those changes were already in effect in 2018, the big change […]
Racing on a Frontier: Easter in the Alice stage 1, Alice Springs
The Easter in the Alice Springs has become somewhat of a pilgrimage for the Australian MTB community over the past 10-15years. With the drawcard of one of the finest single trail networks in Australia couples with a unique and spectacular location it really has become an event that most MTB’ers agree is a ‘must do’ […]
Schurter and Forster claw back time at the Cape Epic
Crashes in both the leading teams at the Absa Cape Epic could not unseat either from the top of the overall standings, but the top men did have their lead more than halved during Thursday’s 43km Time Trial stage at Oak Valley. Minor crashes for Annika Langvad from Investec-songo-Specialized, the leading Women’s category team, and […]
Cannondale Factory Racing take Cape Epic lead
Much speculation had been made around a clean-sweep of wins for the men’s Scott-SRAM MTB-Racing and women’s Investec-songo-Specialized pairs ahead of Stage 3’s 107km out-and-back loop from Oak Valley Estate in Elgin; but this is the Absa Cape Epic and it’s not often that a story can be concluded prior to the crossing of the […]
Leaders consolidate at the Cape Epic
Stage 1 of the Absa Cape Epic was a day of consolidation with both the top men and women growing their leads significantly after a tough 111km day which started and finished in Hermanus on Monday. Prologue winners Annika Langvad and Anna van der Breggen (Investec-songo-Specialized) increased their lead in the Women’s race with a […]