The hub for marathon mountain biking
While the Grand Tours might be lucky enough to have final stages as processions, in the world of mountain bike stage racing, there’s often quite a lot of racing left to do, and positions to decide. The 2015 Perskindol Swiss Epic was no exception, and across the Epic and the Flow race, many categories were […]
Nothing hurts quite the same as watching a race from the sidelines. But the truth is that watching a race on the 5th day from the sidelines is a pretty sombre affair anyway. Despite the excellent trails, and the great accommodation and food, there were a lot of tired people in the start block today. […]
The 4th day of a six day stage race, is well and truly the hump day. Starting in Leukerbad, the Perskindol Swiss Epic was set to descend down to the Rhone Valley, travel upstream towards Visp, and then ascend towards Grachen, via Visperterminen along a seemingly never ending climb, followed by a never ending descent […]
Whenever we get in a group of fast riders, challenging us, I always tell Mike that we have to ‘ride the wave, as long as we can’. We were feeling a little battle-worn when we finally turned out the lights last night. We’d had a very tough day: things had gone wrong, we’d both dipped […]
Today the real racing started with a climb up to the iconic Croix de Coeur pass from Verbier, similar to the first ascent of the famous Grand Raid marathon race, but taken on some smaller and steeper roads. Mike and I enjoyed a call up to the front row, although we had to be beckoned […]
Stage races come and stage races go. Each promises something different: the Croc Trophy takes you to the wildest Australian outback. Transalp over the most magnificent passes. The Cape Epic offers the ultimate physical challenge. The Perskindol Swiss Epic has a lot going for it, but its point of difference, I’ve quickly realised, is quality. Everything, […]
When you stand on a start line and look around you one thing is always the same: everyone looks fitter, calmer, better dressed, and more prepared than you do. You can try numerous strategies to overcome your nerves: a friendly chat, a thousand-mile stare, some tweaks to your gear – but your heart will hammer […]
I’ve been working in media for a while now, and I’ve learned that there’s a time for every kind of writing. There’s a time to explore ideas. There’s a time to discuss events. Then there’s a time to go deep inside and treat yourself in a bit of self-indulgent introspection. That time has come! That’s […]
The Perskindol Swiss Epic has become a must-do mountain bike stage race in just a single year. The inaugural edition attracted riders from around the World and was instantly acclaimed as a must-do event. A combination of perfect organisation and challenging, technical terrain with huge alpine climbs and two race formats mean there is something […]
I’ll never forget the day I was left most perplexed by our team manager Mike Blewitt after his seemingly bipolar reaction to my newest bicycle purchase. We were setting up our steeds in the basement of our apartment in preparation for the Dolomiti Superbike, a fantastically tough one day marathon race in the heart of […]
