Madeira Mountain Biking – Like Nowhere Else on Earth

Then of course, there’s the locations. MTB stage racing is rarely seen here in the UK. It’s really popular in Southern and Central Europe along with South Africa and Australia.

It’s a really interesting format. I want to have a go at it. Badly.

Having scoured the internet and UCI calendar, the Costa Blanca Bike Race caught my eye. Four days long, in late January it has a reputation for good weather. It also is immediately apparent that it has easy logistics, with all four stage starts being situated in close, rideable proximity of the headquarters Hotel Cap Negret at Altea.

Here is the race website: Costa Blanca Race Website  & here’s a short video too – Click Here

Low cost flight into Alicante, forty minute transfer to the hotel and race for four days (hopefully in winter sun), forty minute transfer back to Alicante and fly home. With clear commitment from the hotel to provide massage, secure bike storage, race support and a race village experience what’s not to like. Here is a link:  check out the dedicated cycling pages – Click Here  & here is a short video – Click for video

So now for a team mate. In a flash of inspiration, I decided that pre existing friendship wasn’t necessarily a prerequisite for a teammate. In reality, what has personal friendship got to do with it? This is about forging a strong athletic relationship where the object of the exercise was to enjoy the racing. From looking at the results, I noticed that mixed gender teams were really popular, often with husband and wife composition. Sitting and thinking about it, I suddenly came up with an idea… how about if I found a really strong, experienced female MTB racer with a proven track record to ride with? Someone who I could learn from and would almost certainly push elements of my riding.

Rather than posting a dodgy something on social media, I did a little research on results and spotted a female elite with a British sounding surname in the top ten percent of the field overall in a UCI MTB Marathon Series race in Italy. I got a little lucky as Facebook stalking revealed we had a couple of mutual friends. The individual is a recently retired pro who winning at master level in Italian marathons, no surprise as she has worn a British Cycling national champions jersey a few years ago. In June, after plucking up courage, I made a cold call and an initially awkward video call she agreed to race with me. It subsequently turned out she’d raced the iconic seven day Transalp a couple of seasons ago. With regards Transalp the clue’s in the name…  she’s going to hit four days in the Catalan mountains hard. I intend to write about the experience and dynamics of of a gangly fifty one year old very average cross rider racing a multi day event with a younger, more gifted thoroughbred MTB racer.

So, my new friend and I are sat with the entry fee set aside in our bank accounts waiting for entries to go live for the 2021 race. I’ve booked the rooms at the Cap Negret Hotel… and I’ve switched one of my weekly base endurance training sessions from the road onto the trails around Nidderdale.

I intend to detail the logistics of our race trip as we get nearer to help anyone else who is motivated to race The Costa Blanca Bike Race – but I’m very happy to share information to anyone who contacts me via social media etc.