[Closed] World's hardest MTB stage race

Nice one Matt! You are awsumzz... 😀

How you didn't end up breaking yourself on that, I don't know.. 😯

The pedals are still going strong by the way!

Perhaps bump into you on the trails around Aberystwyth sometime? 😉

Alan

That looks very tough but very,very fun! What's the last track on there?

Looks awesome. How much is an entry, guessing an absolute shit ton! (Website doesn't like my phone as it keeps crashing it)

It also happens to be one of the best value races in the World.
8 days, including food for €500-700. Price depends on how early you enter.

You can easily do everything, including travel across and all your food for under £1000.
Most years around 120 people enter, 100 start and 40-50 actually finish.

There is an article in the final issue of Privateer with some great photos.

Bloody hell that's rather good!!

Come on, give us your write up or have I missed it? Surely you have a few tales to tell, how'd you finish, mechanicals etc!

Here is a link to my blog with reports, stats and photos:
[url] http://www.acyclingteam.co.uk/iron-bike-2013-round-up-photos/ [/url]

That looks amazing

That's mental. Is the weather always that nice??!!

Pretty much. I've done it 3 years and can only remember a couple of damp days.

Just checked the dates and I've already booked a holiday then!

It has technical downhills anyway George 😉
Plus a bit of hike a bike and I know you are not a fan of that either.

The stage through the fort looked mint.

I just checked your Blog - Strava - Stage 2 87 Km overall the first 30 up hill...WTF

doffs cap.

This will appear a bit random if you don't, but do you live in West Wales?

Pretty much.

Who me?

Ahhhh....so it IS you I'm chasing up Newgale hill on strava!

Croc Trophy also worth a look if you like a real challenge.

Wow. you did that on a hardtail??

I'm now seeing why you said this was your favourite event.

That looks like some amazing riding.
Just wish i was fit enough to give it a shot.

Huge climbs/hike a bike/ awsum singletrack/ steep descents/ steps/Italian enthusiasm what more could anyone want. 😀

Thanks Matt, inspiring read, thanks for sharing and good write up in Privateer!

Alpha - Possibly, although I have only ridden it once I think when visiting. If you steal it I might have to pay another visit 😉

epicyclo - Croc is ace too. I've ridden it twice and its a much better (more technical) race than it used to be. It's UCI for 2014 which will make it interesting. Different to IB, the "racing" is killer at the Croc and the heat, but there isn't the climbing or anything severely technical.

DT78 - Yup. Just because of the crazy amounts of climbing. I had a dropper seatpost on my Pivot LES and a 120mm fork. It has a pretty slack HA which make it fantastic downhill.

stu - Got it in one. You have got to love the Italians 🙂

Looks good that.. anyone know if there's a route map anywhere for a self-supported ride, the general area if not the exact route?

Well done Matt.. I heard it's a really tough race. (There must be only one 'world's hardest MTB race' left on your list now .. )

DT78 - Member
Wow. you did that on a hardtail??

Yeah, just think how "more alive" the trails would've been on a 650b eh? 😉

@mtbmatt -being the Friday night party animal that I am I spent an hour reading the blog last night. Incredible event, great result, chapeau to your sir ! It is handy that on a bike forum we have some people who can actually ride a bit !

By the way are you currently in Israel (Strava links) ? What's the riding like ?

Well done Matt.. I heard it's a really tough race. (There must be only one 'world's hardest MTB race' left on your list now .. )

There are so many good stage races out there, it would be tough to do them all. The only other event that I know of that calls itself the hardest is La Ruta, but at 3 or 4 days I just can't see it being harder and people who have done IB and La Ruta say there is no contest.

On the to do list:
Breck Epic
Singletrack 6
TransPyr
Sudety Challenge
Swiss Epic
Maybe Cape Epic too, but as a pairs race it doesn't appeal as much.

If you mean the self-supported events/ITTs, no plans yet.

IB is all based around Cuneo in Italy, you could get the routes from Strava.

By the way are you currently in Israel (Strava links) ? What's the riding like ?

Israel is rocking. There is some crazy riding there and I loved the country. Looking to head back in 2014. It really suits the 140/160mm bigger bikes which wasn't what I expected.
Quick write up [url= http://www.acyclingteam.co.uk/israel/ ]here[/url].

I went through 3 pairs of underpants just watching the video footage, amazing stuff. Are the bits that look like you could die, if you went a bit too far right, as dangerous as they look?

Thanks, will have a look. Want to do a trip to Italy before too long. Plenty on that list - hat off to your focus/appetite!

Meh, looks easy... 🙂

I went through 3 pairs of underpants just watching the video footage, amazing stuff. Are the bits that look like you could die, if you went a bit too far right, as dangerous as they look?

Yes. It was scary. The first few riding sections from the video we passed a memorial to someone who had fallen and died. I caught a pedal on the upper slope at one point which bucked my wheel and left me teetering on the edge with my back to the drop. Genuine heart in mouth moment until I manage to regain balance. There are lots of places where you could potentially die given a mistake.

Meh, looks easy...

You are one of the only Brits who can get away with saying that 😉

You are one of the only Brits who can get away with saying that

Pootling round the hills of Kent and Surrey is easily enough preparation 🙂

Fantastic vid, by the way. Difficult to get across what Ironbike is like, but you've done a great job.

Looks both epic and do able

Plus a bit of hike a bike

Just a bit 😉

It is do-able, even if most of your preparation is

Pootling round the hills of Kent and Surrey

It's an amazing event, everything else pales in comparison...

That looks good / insane. All due respect sir.
I'm doing the Andalucia race next Feb which is freaking me out a bit as it is my first stage race....but knowing there is something harder in Europe somehow makes me feel better 😀

Andalucia Bike Race is a great event. Not as demanding as IB, but lots of fun with great descents.
The competition at the front it first class. Very well organised as well, its a great race.

Great stuff - can't get the site to work properly - when is it?

Iron Bike is usually the last week in July.

Thats that then 🙁

I am thinking 2015...

@mtbmatt: I don't think there's any danger of taking Newgale from you anytime soon - I live at one end of the beach and work at the other so ride it a lot. I'm improving but I think you're safe for the time being!

Edit: clearly I don't actually live on the beach.

Oh wow! Proper smile inducing 😀

Hi Matt

What what is like riding a 29er hard tail on that terrain? Did you ever wish you had a FS at any point?

Cheers

Hi Matt

What what is like riding a 29er hard tail on that terrain? Did you ever wish you had a FS at any point?

Cheers

I think a [u]good[/u] 29er is perfect for the event, although many people do use a FS.
Personally I find a HT better for the amount of climbing and easier to carry when needed. But my priorities might be different to other people whose aims are to complete the race.

The Pivot LES is awesome downhill though. I used a 120mm fork and dropper seatpost. The relatively slack head angle and dropper make it really capable downhill.

Huge climbs/hike a bike/ awsum singletrack/ steep descents/ steps/Italian enthusiasm what more could anyone want.

A castle, and the chance to ride through it, and they had that too!!

Amazing looking event.

amazing matt - fair play, i know from your posts/reading blog you are exceptionally fit/fast anyways but watching and reading the blog for the iron man is just mental, cant imagine how painful that amount of climbing is for so many days on end

looks like fun still but very very very hard work

Matt - have you done the Leadville 100? Riding for nearly 100 miles in 10,000ft + altitude surely has to be up there?

That's made my todo list for sure
Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed that