After 10 years of loyal service, there will be a new battleship for the Reevax MTB Racing Team. The upcoming 2012 season we will go to battle with TREK bikes. The weapon of our choice is the TREK Elite 9.9 SSL, specced with Bontrager components and Shimano XTR drivetrain and brakes.
Last saturday we celebrated the the 10th anniversary of the Reevax team in an appropriate way by looking back at the highlights of 10 years of adventure mountainbiking. Besides the many supporters, also -witjhout excpetions- all former Reevaxers were present. We were very happy with the many positive reactions and the appreciation for the many hours of preparation for a succesful video evening.The many positive reactions . De talrijke positieve reacties wezen erop dat het een geslaagde avond was en dat de vele uren voorbereiding uitermate gesmaakt werden.
We want to thank all the people that stopped by on saturday evening, but especially the people who helped us one way or another and made the evening possible. Many thanks to everyone!
On saturday 21 january 2012 we look back at the past racing season and at 10 years Reevax ! It all started 10 years ago with the Crocodile Trophy in 2002. Via the TransAlp Challenge, the Cape Epic in South-Africa and numerous other adventures across the world, we could have our 10th anniverary birthday cake in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Specially for this occasion we dug up the most spectacular images from the Reevax archives. With impressive photos and amazing video-images we also report about the Rally di Sardegna, the Zillertal Bike Challenge and the Breck Epic in Colorado !
All this on a big screen and of course with free entrance ! Start is at 20h00 in the football canteen of Wolfsdonk Sport in Wolfsdonk (Aarschot). Directions are here !
Another year comes to an end, but no worries as a new year is already knocking on the door ! We want to wish you all the best for the new year, on personal, professional and of course sportive level. But most importantly a good health !
Great parties and a prosperous 2012 !
On saturday 21 january 2012 we look back at the past racing season and at 10 years Reevax ! It all started 10 years ago with the Crocodile Trophy in 2002. Via the TransAlp Challenge, the Cape Epic in South-Africa and numerous other adventures across the world, we could have our 10th anniverary birthday cake in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Specially for this occasion we dug up the most spectacular images from the Reevax archives. With impressive photos and amazing video-images we also report about the Rally di Sardegna, the Zillertal Bike Challenge and the Breck Epic in Colorado !
All this on a big screen and of course with free entrance ! Start is at 20h00 in the football canteen of Wolfsdonk Sport in Wolfsdonk (Aarschot). Directions are here !
A few weeks ago the local TV-station ROBtv paid Reevax a visit. In the program "Score op maandag" the 10-year birthday of Reevax and the Breck Epic was one of the subjects. Those who missed the broadcast, or do not have access to ROB tv, can watch it on our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8qBax11o4
Next to ROBtv, also the written press has been active: the November issue of the biggest Belgian mountainbike magazine O2 Bikers devoted not less than 5 paginas to an article about Reevax in the Breck Epic !
And to topit off another article about our roadtrip across Colorado and Utah will appear in the December issue !
Happy reading !
Yesterday Pepe was at the start of the Belgian Championships Marathon in Eijsden in The Netherlands. The weekend was announced as cold and wet, but on raceday the temperatures were not that bad and the rain stayed away long enough to get to finish without getting wet. On the 105 km course with 1750m of climbing there was a lot of mud, not surprising seen the amount of rain during the last days, but it was still good rideable. Especially the climbs in the Belgian part of the course were hard, but as they were connected with fairly long asphalt and gravel road sections it stayed a fast course.
Pepe finishes in 4h32 as 10de in the Masters 40+ category. Kroki rode the chrono on the same course in 5h07 and finishes as 60th overall. Read more...
One of the Reevax rules states that who succeeds in ending up on the podium, has to pay ice-cream for the whole team present. A couple of supporters thought that after 10 years Reevax it was about time to reverse the rules. They arranged a whole gang of out-of-control fans and ex-Reevaxers to raid the local ice-cream car ! And believe me, there was way more ice-cream involved then just 2 scoops of vanilla !
Thanks everybody !
Last weekend we travelled to the Schwabische Alb, south of Stuttgart in Germany, for the Trans Zollernalb, a 3-day stage race through the Zollernalb. The weather is fantastic and the organisation does is utmost best to goive the bikers a couple of nice bike days. The stages are relatively short and also the amount of climbing is not that much. If we have to summarize the races in one word: super-fast, with insane average speeds. Pepe finishes 5th in the masters 2 category after the 3 days in a time of a little more then 8 hours. Kroki looked more like a wet towel on saturday morning and had the quit the race due to illness. Read more...
Barely back in Belgium and we are already at the start yof the next race, starting with the nightride on friday evening, together with Ay Up! Australian Andy and the Ay Up! lights on the bike and helemet. For Kroki there was no way he was going to do the 160 km distance, still being too tired after the USA trip, and he settled for the 70 km distance. But Pepe convinced himself to start the 160 km distance. The rain from the past weeks, and the rain during the race made the course difficult and extremely muddy. Something completely different then the dry trails we got under our wheels in the last month, so we had to get used again to the slippery surface.
Pepe finishes in 3rd place in the masters 2 category of the 160 km distance in 8h19, Kroki finishes on the 14th place in the masters 1 category of the 70 km. Read more...
This morning the complete Reevax team has left for the main goal of this year: the Breck Epic in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA !
240 miles and 40000 feet of climbing have to be conquered in 6 days in the area around the Victorian mining town of Breckenridge. Surrounded by numerous 14ers - mountain tops above 14000 feet - and close to the Continental Divide - the highest ridge of the Rockies, Breckenridge is located at an altitude of 3000m. From there the only way is up, meaning that our breath and muscles will get a hard time due ot the lack of oxygen. But in retrun we get awesome views and a challenging course that exists almost exclusively out of brilliant singletrails. Some even speak about "the ultimate singletrack experience" !
The coming week we will try to bring daily reports and photos from the Breck Epic, so you can follow the race with all details from home. This news page will not be daily updated , you can find all details about the Breck Epic here !
After a few weeks of rest, we have pick up the racing again with the Keiler Bike marathon in the German village of Wombach. We are not very far from Frammersbach, where we raced the Spessart bike marathons a few times in the past years. Same region, so we get the same painful climbs and similar hard course, but with more forest trails and singletrails. Acoording to the statistics with 89km and 2250 m of climbing, this should be a piece of cake compared to the 3500+ m of climbing in the Zillertal Bike Challenge earlier this month. But from experience we also know that not every altitude meter is created equal.
Pepe finises in 6th place in the seniors 2 category after 4h12, Kroki finishes in 5h at a 29th placein the sneiors 1 category.Read more...
After the Zillertal Bike Challenge it was the intention to let our tired bodies recover a bit. But sometimes the call of the marathons is too strong and the legs start itching. Is this called addiction? Or only a innocent disorder? Or just crazy? Quickly signed up and searched a bed, and on friday evening MarV and I left for Thalfang, for the 1120km and 3100 meters of climbing of the Erbeskopf marathon. Real racing was not possible, reacting on attacks of others or keeping the wheel of a competitor was impossible today. With my gletcher legs I could only ride my own pace and hope to get to the finish without cramps.
After 5.5 hours Pepe finished in 6th place in the seniors2 category. Read more...
Just back home from the Rally di Sardegna, or the next challenge is already waiting for us. Tomorrow morning the complete Reevax team leaves to the Zillertal in the Austrian Alps, where next weekend the Zillertal Bike Challenge takes place: a 2-day stage race over 200 km and not less then 10000 m of climbing ! Pepe and Kroki will do their best to conquer the mountains and earn the famous "King of the Mountain" title !
The coming week we will try to bring daily reports and photos from the Zillertal Bike Challenge, so you can follow the race with all details from home. This news page will not be daily updated , you can find all details about the Zillertal Bike Challenge here !
This evening Reevax leaves to for the first main goal of this year: the Rally di Sardegna on the Italian island of Sardinia !
460 km and 14000 meters of climbing wil have to be conquered in 6 stages and a prologue.
The coming week we will try to bring daily reports and photos from the Rally di Sardegna, so you can follow the race with all details from home. This news page will not be daily updated , you can find all details about the Rally di Sardegna here !
The Hagelandse Chrono, the 11th edition already, is very well know far outside our area, and a not-to-missed appointmoint for bikers that like never-boring trails. Despite having raced the Hagelandse Chrono many times, every time again we are struck by the beauty of our area and the fun trails. The course looks like a spaghetti of trails that winds it's way through our back yard !. Steering, shifting, accelerating and braking again follows each other very rapidly.
Both Pepe and Kroki ride their own pace, as the legs are not very fresh after Waimes last thursday. Pepe finishes 35th in de seniors2 categorie, Kroki 117th in the seniors1 category. Read more...
Yesterday Les Cimes de Waimes was on our race schedule. An excellent choice to discover once again the technical singletrails in the southern part of our country. According to some bikers once of the most beautiful races in Belgium, and despite the ot so impressive number ("only" 85 km and "only 1800" meters of climbing), heavy stuff. River crossings, technical singletrails up and down, short supersteep climbs are following each other at a fast pace. This pure MTB and super fun, but it also makes the lactic acid factories work overtime. On top of that this is root-country: the course os covered with roots, once in a while interleaved with rocks.
Pepe had bad legs and finished 7th in the masters2 category in a time of 4:9:30. Kroki tried to do easy today, failed at his plan, and finished 136th in the masters1 category in a time of 4:54:35. Read more...
Just as last week we spent the weekend in the Black Forest, but this time on the other side of the mountain range: Bad Wildbad in the northern part. When we arrive in Bad Wildbad, we are shocked for a moment: "Damn, it is steep here !", is the first reaction with all 3 of us. The city is located in the small valley of the Enz river and surrounded by steep mountain flanges with dense woods.
The varying and challenging course of 83 km ith 2300 meter of climbing consisted of 3 laps and had something for everybody to like. The climbs and downhills followed each other quickly and the surface changes often: gravel, rocky trails, forest paths covered with roots and muddy grass sections.
Pepe gets the job done in 3h54, good for a 8th place in the masters 2 category. Kroki suffered in the last lap, and finished in 4h59 on a 28th place in the masters 1 category. Read more...
No Sauerland for a change last weekend, but this time the journey went a few hunderd kilometer further south to Offenburg, not very far from Strasbourg, and also known as "the gate to the Black Forest" Billiardtableflat west of Offenburg, but east of OFfenburg the word flat is non-exitsing and probably even a forbidden word. The local geography shoots 800m up from the Rhine valley, the steep slopes covered with vineyards. Guess on which side the course talkes place...
The course was, despite the steep climbs, absolutely not technical, but this was compensated by the magnificent views over the Rhine valley and the Black Forest. There was plenty of climbing, with 2560 altitude meters in 84 km.
After 3h40 Pepe finishes in 3rd place in the Seniors 2 category. Kroki had a better feeling then in Sundern 2 weeks ago, and finishes in 65th place in the seniors 1 category. Read more...
Last weekend we had the SKS Bike marathon in the little German town Sundern on the agenda. Reevax went over there with 2 brand new Orbea bikes. With the latest and greatest gear under our arses, it won't be the material that is to blame. Thanks to the hail showers and heavy thunderstorms on friday, the dust was gone and on saturday morning the course was in a dry and near perfect condition. The warm spring sunrays completed the excellent bike conditions.
After 4h21 Pepe finishes 10th overall and in 2nd place in the Seniors 2 category. Kroki had a very bad day, but managed to finish the long distance on the 59th place in the seniors 1 category. Read more...
Yesterday the complete Reevax team was racing in the Kellerwald marathon in Germany. This marathon is considered as the seasons opener in Germany, and with 120 km and 3000 meter of climbing, immediately a decent one. And because you need to do the same lap 3 times, it promised to be a mental challenge as well. The promised sun and accompanying temperatures were not there, so we had to do with a gray sky and a more chilly temperatures. Luckily it stayed dry and the course with gravel raod climbs and trail downhills through the woods was dusty and dry.
After 5h24 Pepe finishes 5th in the Seniors 2 category, while Kroki finishes 50th in the seniors 1 category after 6h34 in his first +3000hm race in 10 years. Read more...
The past weeks Pepe and Kroki were in Gran Canaria for training. Besides many trainingskilometers and a lot of climbing, we regularly took a sigletrail along the way to improve our technical skills. Magnificent weather, magnificent landscape and fantastic possibilities for biking, both on- and off-road made a succesful week.
To close the training camp, the local marathon was perfect: on a fantastic course in a magnificent landscape Pepe finished 4h in the masters 40 category and Kroki finished 11th in the masters 30 category. Read more...
2011 is a special year for Reevax, as it will be our 10th racing season ! Therefor we set ourselves a major goal: an ALL NEW race program !
All races abroad will be new for Reevax, where we did not race before, with some Belgian races added to the mix. Headlining our race calendar will be 2 major stage races, completed with a 3rd smaller stage race:
The complete calender can be found here. We are looking forward to an exciting race season !
Last week Pepe started in the 6 hours race of Halle in the solo category. He did the race as an intensive endurance training, rode a long time together with Wouter Wuilmus, but had to let go for the last 1.5 hours.
After 6 hours of turning laps in the woods of Halle Pepe finished 11th in the solo category. Read more...