Mountain bike stage races and Alice Springs go together like red wine and cheese. The city in the centre of Australia has hosted mountain bike stage races for two decades, with riders visiting from the edges of the continent to ride the sweet singletrack in the red centre. In 2023 The Redback runs from 18-21 […]
The Redback brings racing back to Alice Springs
After a quiet year where few numbers where attached to handlebars, Rapid Ascent are have opened entries to the award-winning Redback MTB Stage Race, set to return to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (NT) on Friday 20 to Monday 23 August 2021. The Redback has had a couple of variants and names over the […]
Course Records Blown Apart at The Redback 2019
Paul Van der Ploeg thumped the final right hand corner into the Mercure Hotel on Sunday morning in Alice Springs to claim his 5th stage win of the 2019 Redback and overall Redback Crown. And he smashed the course record by four minutes while he was at it—coming home in a tick over two hours. […]
Making memories at The Redback
Mountain bikes are a tool for fitness, a tool to earn a living (for some!), a method of self expression, a vehicle for transport, a way to blow off steam, a pride and joy, a travel buddy and usually a combination off all those things and more. In just the same way, a mountain bike […]
The Redback day 4: Final stage again finishes in sprint. De Rooze and Thomson take GC crowns
Related Event: The Redback
A few tired legs on the start line in downtown Alice Springs for the final and arguably hardest stage of this year’s Redback MTB stage race. Rider’s today faced 45km of predominantly the rocky, well cambered singletrack that typifies the riding in central Australia. Chatting among the riders there was more or less complete agreement […]
The Redback Day 2: Sun and Moon stage’s
Related Event: The Redback
Day 2 of racing in the red centre of Australia for the Redback stage race involved two 22km races one a TT and one a mass start race both competed on the same course but with one BIG differentiating factor. One competed under the warmth of the sun and the other under the stars and […]
The Redback day 1: Thomson and Gadsen take GC lead
Related Event: The Redback
The increasingly famed mountain bike trails of Central Australia again are playing host to quality racing at a high quality event. ‘The Redback’ MTB stage race run by event organiser Rapid Ascent is now in it’s 11th edition and with an honour roll including names like Andrew Blair, Jason English, Rowena Fry, Holly Harris and […]
Get red hot at The Redback this winter
Related Event: The Redback
In Australia, there is more than just a chill in the air in some parts of the country. With early snow falls in the Alps, and even snow on the ground on the Tablelands last week, it’s clear winter is making its mark for 2018. And while some of the racing is winding up for […]
Everything you need to know about Alice Springs
Related Event: Easter in the Alice
Alice Springs is easy to spot on the map of Australia – it’s smack bang in the middle! So while it’s equidistant to every beach in Australia as some locals like to say, the mountain biking in Alice Springs is completely different to what you normally find on the east coast, where most of us […]
Redback Wrapup
Related Event: The Redback
Yesterday The Redback’s sixth and final stage took in 45 kilometres of desert trails, sand traps, and rock features. We lined up just south of the Telegraph Station, the town’s trail hub, and rolled up the bike path, at a neutral pace. I hoped to catch sight of the dingo munching on a dead kangaroo […]