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Your First Multi-Day MTB Stage Race: What the Training Actually Looks Like
Stage racing on a mountain bike is a different discipline from a single hard event. The training is different, the equipment choices are different, and the in-race decisions that determine whether you finish comfortably or blow up on day three are different. Here is the framework that experienced stage racers actually use.
By ZealZag TeamValle d'Aosta by Mountain Bike: La Thuile, Pila, and the Alps Above Aosta
The Italian Alps' longest valley holds some of the most varied alpine mountain biking in Europe — and Round 7 of the UCI MTB World Series in La Thuile this weekend is the best reason to come now.
By ZealZag Team
Ride La Thuile: Complete Guide to Valle d'Aosta's Alpine Bike Park
La Thuile's UCI World Cup bike park delivers 1,200m of vertical on Europe's steepest natural trail network. Season, travel from Turin, gear, trails, and where to eat in the Italian Alps.
By ZealZag Team
UCI MTB World Cup La Thuile 2026: Can Goldstone Tame Europe's Steepest DH?
In 48 hours, the UCI Downhill World Cup debuts at La Thuile on the series' steepest course. Jackson Goldstone leads practice. Vali Höll and Gracey Hemstreet battle for the women's lead.
By ZealZag TeamRound 7 Opens in La Thuile: WHOOP UCI MTB World Series Brings Four Disciplines to Valle d'Aosta
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series arrives at La Thuile this weekend for the most format-dense event on the calendar — XCO, XCC, Downhill, and Enduro all racing in one Alpine hub, with a night Enduro stage and the season's steepest DH course.
By ZealZag TeamPreparing for Your First Multi-Day MTB Stage Race: What Back-to-Back Days Actually Demand
Stage racing on a mountain bike exposes gaps in fitness that a single hard day never will. Cumulative fatigue changes what you can do on day four, and pacing instincts built for one-day efforts misfire when the finish line resets every morning for a week.
By ZealZag TeamVal di Fassa Enduro: Pugin's Comeback and Botteram's 0.6-Second Miracle
Mélanie Pugin stormed from sixth after day one to win the Val di Fassa Enduro World Cup as Tristan Botteram took the men's title from Tommaso Calonaci by just 0.623 seconds in a single final-stage showdown after weather cut the day's format.
By ZealZag Team
Ride Val di Fassa: The Ultimate Dolomites Enduro Mountain Bike Guide
From Gondola Buffaure to the Catinaccio south face, here is everything you need to plan an epic enduro mountain biking trip to Val di Fassa, Trentino — in the heart of the UNESCO Dolomites.
By ZealZag Team
EWS Val di Fassa 2026: Conolly and Łukasik Dominate Dolomites Enduro
Ella Conolly and Sławomir Łukasik extended their UCI Enduro World Cup series leads with commanding wins in Val di Fassa, Trentino, after two days of blistering racing through the Italian Dolomites.
By ZealZag TeamThe Sella Ronda on Two Wheels: Mountain Biking the Dolomites' Greatest Loop
The Sella Ronda is the most famous circuit in the Dolomites — 52 kilometres of mountain passes ringing the Sella massif, connecting Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, Alta Badia, and Arabba. A guide to riding it by mountain bike (lift-assisted), road bike, or e-bike, staged from the same Canazei that hosts this weekend's UCI Enduro World Cup.
By ZealZag TeamVal di Fassa Enduro Day 1: Three Stages Down, the Dolomites Race Back Into Form
The first race day of UCI Enduro World Cup Round 3 in Val di Fassa ran three stages — Tutti Frutti, 9.90, and Ciasates EWS — across the Dolomite limestone above Canazei. Five hundred riders in the field, warm Italian afternoon, and the provisional results loading as this is filed.
By ZealZag TeamTrail, Enduro, or XC: What the Three Mountain Bike Categories Actually Mean for Real Riders
Mountain bike categories have blurred as every segment adopted the geometry trends of the one below it. A 2025 trail bike has the numbers that a 2018 enduro bike had. Here is what the categories actually mean, where the lines sit, and — more usefully — which one you probably need.
By ZealZag TeamRace the Route: Val di Fassa and the Fassa Bike District, Trentino
The Dolomites' leading mountain bike destination hosts the UCI Enduro World Cup this weekend. The Fassa Bike District's trails are open to riders year-round. Complete guide to riding Val di Fassa: the Titans trail, TuttiFrutti, cable car access, best season, and where to base in Canazei.
By ZealZag TeamUCI Enduro World Cup Val di Fassa 2026: 500 Riders, Seven Stages, Two Days in the Dolomites
The UCI Enduro World Cup returns to Val di Fassa in the Trentino Dolomites — 59.58km of stages across two race days, famous trails including Titans and TuttiFrutti, 500 athletes from the World Cup and Open fields. Practice opens Thursday. Racing starts Saturday.
By ZealZag TeamThe Race Format That Rewrote the Trail Bike: How the Enduro World Series Changed Mountain Biking
The Enduro World Series launched in 2013 with a format that demanded something no existing bike category was built to deliver: a machine that could descend technical terrain fast enough to compete at an elite level while being pedalled for several hours between stages. The industry responded with a decade of geometry evolution that created a distinct enduro bike category and, in the process, permanently reset the baseline for what a trail bike is expected to do.
By ZealZag Team
Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide: Switzerland's Biggest MTB Network
Switzerland's Bike Kingdom links Arosa, Lenzerheide and Chur across 366 trails - including the UCI World Cup DH and XCO courses. How to plan a trip to Graubuenden's mountain bike paradise.
By ZealZag TeamLenzerheide World Cup 2026: The 10th Anniversary Opens in the Alps
The UCI MTB World Cup returns to Lenzerheide for its 10th edition - Switzerland Bike Kingdom hosts XCC, XCO and DHI racing June 19-21, with the DH course delivering its signature finish-bowl jump.
By ZealZag TeamPreparing for Your First Multi-Day MTB Stage Race: What the Training Block Actually Looks Like
Multi-day MTB stage racing is a fundamentally different test from a single long ride or a short-format XCO race. The training that builds you for it is specific, and most athletes underestimate the volume of back-to-back riding required. Here is a realistic preparation framework.
By ZealZag TeamMelamed and Conolly Take the Enduro at Leogang Round 4: World Cup Day 3 Field Report
Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) and Ella Conolly closed out the enduro races at Leogang Round 4 — Conolly defending the venue she won at last year and the overall UCI title she carries into 2026. Downhill Q1 ran clean with Marine Cabirou and Dylan Maples on top in the women's and men's qualifying respectively.
By ZealZag TeamMountain Biking for Footballers: The Off-Season Sport That Trains the Right Energy System
Mountain biking and gravel cycling deliver the variable-intensity energy demand that competitive soccer requires — without the injury risk of running. The case for adding a mountain bike to a footballer's off-season schedule, and where to ride.
By ZealZag Team
Ride Vancouver Island: The BC Bike Race Seven-Day Route Guide
Seven stages of legendary singletrack from Cumberland to North Cowichan — our guide to riding Vancouver Island's BC Bike Race route, covering trail networks, logistics, and the Pacific Northwest spirit.
By ZealZag Team
BC Bike Race 2026: Schurter Seals the Final Seven-Day Crown on Vancouver Island
Nino Schurter wins the 20th and final edition of the legendary 7-day BC Bike Race, finishing on North Cowichan's trails as Ruth Holcomb claims the women's overall in the race's final hours.
By ZealZag TeamPreparing for Your First Multi-Day MTB Stage Race
Multi-day mountain bike stage racing has one demand that no single-day event prepares you for: recovering overnight and performing again at full intensity the following morning, for seven or eight consecutive days. The training block, the race-week disciplines, and the gear decisions are all oriented toward that single requirement.
By ZealZag Team