Few races have soared to such a height in a short period, but the Sellaronda Hero is one such race. In a few short years, the epic mountain bike race based out of Selva Val Gardena has held the World Championships, attracted countless superstars, and built into a whole mountain bike festival. With two routes […]
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 […]
Trans Schwarzwald begins
Let the Trans Schwarzwald begin! 3km at 14% with 1km at 18% … And that was the first 3km of Stage 2! That was a hard start, so let’s take a little break … Nope After a small downhill it’s straight into climb number two, another 2.5km at close to 10%! Alright, surely that’s it, […]
Power analysis in marathon racing
For this past weekend, I decided to book in a double header with an XCO race on Saturday and the Saarschleifen Half Marathon on Sunday. The XCO was my main focus but with the Vaude Trans Schwarzwald stage race fast approaching, I wanted to see how my body would react to hard racing days back […]
100 miles of lumberjack singletrack at Michigan’s X100
On August 20 this the year the X100 will be running its 4th edition through some iconic and some lesser known ‘unmarked trails’ through the mountain bike mecca that is the Traverse City region in the state of Michigan, USA. The area has been made famous in MTB circles through the ‘largest MTB race in […]
Out of Hibernation
Previous years Euro races have been reduced to ‘not being lapped’ so this year I was eager to try a little something different. At least until my quads get a little bigger. So this year I’m targeting smaller races like this weekend’s Cat 2 at Pec Pod Snezkou in the Czech Republic. After the World Championships […]
Riding Lapierre’s new XR full-suspension bike
Last week, French manufacturer Lapierre released their updated cross-country full-suspension bike – the XR. They’ve billed it as the bike for the racer inside. The Lapierre XR has sat within the Lapierre mountain bike range for a few years, and was one of the first bikes in the line-up to use the e:i automatic suspension management […]
5000 riders will toe the line at Dolomiti Superbike
This weekend, 5000 mountain bikers representing 30 nations are to start one of two marathon distances at the Dolomiti Superbike in Villabassa, Italy. With either the 60km/ 1,688 m route or the 119,9 km /3,822 m route to choose between. This year both tracks are raced in am anti-clockwise direction. Approximately 1,000 volunteers from Alta Pusteria will make […]
Clear skies and trails for the finale at the Engadin Bike Giro
With tired legs from Stage 2 of the Engadin Bike Giro, I was happy to know today’s stage would be the final day. But at the same time, I knew that also meant it would be time to go home tomorrow, which wasn’t so appealing. On paper, Stage 3 looked much the same as Stage […]
Engadin Bike Giro – ups and downs in Stage 2
The second stage of the Engadin Bike Giro featured over 2,500 metres of climbing in 74 kilometres. Most of the uphill was in the second half of the course, including a whopping alpine climb from 1,750 to over 2,500 metres above sea level that started at the 47-kilometre mark. Having been ensconced in the world […]