Mountain Bike Stage Race Veterans Brandon Watson and Alex Mallet – Successful Athletes Podcast 009

Successful Athletes Podcast
1

Teammates Alex Mallet and Brandon Watson explain how they have successfully completed multiple mountain bike stage races together including The Cape Epic and The Swiss Epic, among others. Learn how they balance the workload on and off the bike, how they deal with the psychological challenges of a mountain bike stage race, their pacing strategies and more in Episode 009 of The Successful Athletes Podcast.

• Alex Mallet on Strava
• Alex Mallet on Instagram
• Brandon Watson on Strava
• Brandon Watson on Instagram

Youtube Video:

Topics covered in this episode:

• What we can do to make cycling and mountain biking more inclusive
• Beginner tips for your first mountain bike stage race
• How Alex and Brandon pace their races
• How one day races can help your stage racing strategy
• Alex and Brandon’s tips to manage the psychological challenges of a mountain bike stage race
• How Alex and Brandon balance the off-the-bike workload
• Why Cape Epic is most likely different than your expectations
• Alex and Brandon’s predictions for who will win the TrainerRoad Cape Epic Challenge

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That was a brilliant interview. I’m very scared now. Am signed up for the Alps Epic next year. Dodged a bullet when it was postponed this year.

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Unlike a typical mountain bike race, many off-road stage races are team-based. In a team of two, your time for the day is determined by the teammate that crosses the finish line second. This essentially means that you’re only as fast as the slowest athlete in your group on that day. This timing structure makes teamwork and good communication one of my favorite and the most important aspects of stage racing.