[Travel Emilia Romagna] Appenninica MTB: Una gara a tappe lungo il crinale Appenninico
Squirt is the Official Chain Lube of Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano
Squirt Cycling Products is the official chain lubricant partner of Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race.
Achieving your goal at a mountain bike race is as much about training hard, using the best equipment, getting your nutrition dialed in, and hopefully riding your dream bike, right? Yes, but that’s not all.
On a 7-day MTB stage race, as in the format of the Appenninica, you need to make sure your bike is clean and lubed properly every day. The chain and drivetrain are typically the dirtiest parts of your bike and if you don’t use the right lube, well, your bike performance will be impacted and, let’s face it, you will hate yourself when your chain comes off or brakes at a critical point during the race.
That’s why we are happy to partner with Squirt Cycling Products, a South African company. Their liquid lubricant has unique properties that make it ideal for use in any cycling condition. Squirt lube is a wax base, long lasting dry lube that does not contain harmful solvents, is 100% biodegradable and environmentally friendly. They also produce a concentrated biodegradable bike cleaner, a puncture sealant, and a long-lasting application for skin protection on endurance events.
Whichever is your ambition, know that Squirt products are tried, tested and trusted by the biggest names in the world of mountain biking such as Julien Absalon, Rudi Van Houts, Bart Brentjens, Alan Hatherly, Robyn de Groot, Ariane Luthi, and Mariske Strauss, Stefan Garlicki, Bradley Weiss or Johann Potgieter.
Squirt is involved in a number of activities to promote cycling, adventure racing, running and multi-sport around the world. They strive to produce products that are thoroughly tested and accepted by the cycling world as functional and of high quality.
Parmigiano Reggiano Title Sponsor of Appenninica
The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium is the title sponsor of the first edition of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race!
The organizers of Appenninica are honored to be able to combine the name of their competition with one of the most popular and appreciated Italian products in the world. The prerequisites for this partnership come from a shared vision for enhancing the territory and from the approach – without compromise – that leads to creating something unique, genuine and authentic.
The element that links Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race and the King of Cheeses is chiefly and above all the territory. The race will take place on the heights that house the dairy farms that produce Parmigiano Reggiano Mountain Product (Prodotto di Montagna) – we shall remind that the production area of the Parmigiano Reggiano Dop includes the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantova to the right of the Po river and Bologna to the left of the Rhine river (an area of about 10,000 km2). The second key element is the desire to promote sports activities and enhance the passion of athletes who undertake an out of the ordinary endurance race.
Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race is a hard test that will involve an incredible expenditure of calories but good food and typical recipes of the Emilia-Romagna Apennines will not be missing. With Parmigiano Reggiano we have added another truly “tasty” ingredient.
Parmigiano Reggiano is the perfect food for every sportsman, especially for endurance sports, because it is rich in minerals and nutrients, with a precious lipid component and able to provide readily usable energy. Thanks to its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, it is an inevitable element in the athletes’ diet both in the pre and during and after the competition. Thanks to its production process, the King of cheeses is also naturally free of lactose, additives and preservatives.
The new name of the race is, therefore, APPENNINICA PARMIGIANO REGGIANO STAGE RACE and the logo has been redesigned as will all the communication to accommodate the Consortium’s brand.
Appenninica Race Village Concept
We are proud to introduce our very own race village concept
After completing the March reconnaissance trip and meeting with the local municipalities that will host the race village, we are pleased to announce the concept of the Appenninica MTB race village.
The race village will be in actual towns with services and housing scattered throughout and proper signage indicating the facilities. We’ll be in the center or in close proximity of the center of the hosting villages and therefore part of the lively summer activities of those Apennine local communities. This style of village is borrowed from the albergo diffuso (scattered hotel concept), an idea that started in the 1980’s in Italy as a way to revive small villages off the tourist track and give visitors a way to feel like a local in the places they are staying.
While we love aerial shots of race villages in soccer and rugby fields or in the wilderness, we feel that our albergo diffuso village will make our athletes feel at home. A race village that is housed among the streets and piazzas of our hosting communities was possible thanks to the amazing support of our local partners. Our hope is that all riders will get to look around and enjoy the fact that we have local businesses and services all around us.
Since we will be hosted in actual villages and not in the wilderness, we will be surrounded by lively communities. We will be housed in indoor dorms (gyms, schools, sports arenas) and not in tents.
Riders – and companions with a supporter pass – will have to bring their own sleeping bags and mats. Showers and bathrooms will be inside the buildings. Portable toilets will be also close to the starting line.
Go to the Race Village page.
Garmin Sponsor and Challenge
Appenninica mountain bike Stage Race announces Garmin as sponsor and a Garmin Challenge within each stage.
Garmin is the world leader in GPS navigation and a well-respected brand in the outdoor world. For years, both adventure cyclists and those seeking performance have considered a Garmin bike computer and navigator as an essential tool for their rides.
Performance and adventure are two ingredients of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race, whose first edition will take place on the Apennine Mountain Range in Italy in July 2019.
Garmin has come on board as a sponsor of Appenninica and will link its brand to the Italian stage race. Garmin will offer assistance in the field with Garmin product specialists in the race village during the week of the race. Garmin GPS devices will surely be on the bikes of many of the competitors and Garmin personnel will be on hand to check that they are in top working condition. They will also provide information on new products.
Many riders – no matter the discipline – see their Garmin as a tool that grants a wealth of performance data and metrics.
Precisely in order to strive for performance under the Garmin brand, the organizers at Appenninica MTB are excited to announce the Garmin Challenge: a timed section within the route for each stage. In many cases the Garmin Challenge will correspond with a significant climb of the stage.
The more than 500 km of Appenninica and 270 of Appenninica4will not be a walk in the park but they will surely be an exciting challenge. There will be parts that will require more effort and determination than others and that will decide the ranking for those who battle for the podium. Among these will be the Garmin Challenge section of each course. These sections will be recorded, logged and will generate a special ranking thanks to the GarminConnect segments function.
The Garmin Challenge brings Garmin into the event as not only a sponsor but as an important part of the event, setting the stage for a successful collaboration betweenAppenninica MTB Stage Race and Garmin.
Rugby World Champion joins Appenninica MTB Stage Race
Any rugby fans out there? The rider that we present today is a great example of drive in life and in sports. Sophie Hemming is a retired international rugby player from England. Her team became World Champion in 2014 and in her career she had 6 Six Nations wins (5 as Grand Slams). She took up mountain biking in 2015 and placed very well at the national elite level.
She has something very interesting to tell us about her transition from rugby to MTB. We are thrilled to have her and her strong teammate, Melanie Alexander.
– What has rugby taught you that you brought into mountain biking? They are two different sports in many ways…
Although rugby is a very different sport to mountain biking, it has taught me many transferrable attributes! I used to play prop, which tends to attract bigger, stronger, power athletes who are perhaps not best known for their endurance! During my career, I was told many times that I was too small to play prop and that I would never play for England. This instilled a fiery determination to do everything I could to succeed in my goals, a love of challenges and a work ethic that I will no doubt need to get to the start line, and hopefully the finish line, of The Appenninica. During my rugby career, I had to follow a very strict training program, alongside working as a full time vet. As a result, I had to become very disciplined, organised and determined to get my training done. This has definitely helped me in biking too – especially now I am having to juggle this between nappy changes and feeding a baby!
Rugby has also taught me how to control my fear when faced with challenges, as a result I tend to approach technical sections like roots, drops and steep descents, rationally.
There are some skills that I have been able to adapt from my rugby playing days too. When running with the ball and the opposition were trying to tackle me, I was taught to focus on the other side of my opponent. I think that this has helped me in mountain biking, as when I am riding a technical descent, I try to focus on the other side of an obstacle, and this helps me to ride over it, hopefully avoiding any crashes! In the event of crashing (which I confess I have had plenty of!), rugby has also taught me how to fall – as fortunately I used to fall many more times in a game than I do in a mountain bike ride! Learning how to fall is perhaps more important in mountain biking than in rugby – as landing on trees and rocks tends to hurt a lot more than falling on the ground or on people…
– What prompted you in going for Appenninica next Summer?
Following the birth of my first baby in October, and the all clear from my Doctor, I’ve relished being back on the bike! I’ve been determined to ramp up the training with a view to returning to racing, although I confess that I had completely underestimated the toll that having a baby would have. Having managed to fit in a good block of base training despite the endless nappy changes and inevitable sleep deprivation, I have been searching for a big challenge to target in the summer. My search came across The Appenninica – and I was immediately impressed and excited by this new stage race. The trails look incredible in an area with amazing scenery, great food and fantastic friendly people. I am excited to be racing and supporting The Appenninica in the inaugural edition.
– Tell us about your team. Do you have a team name yet?
I am racing with seasoned XC racer Mel Alexander as Team BW Cycling. Mel and I have raced against each other in many cross country races and two stage races. We have had plans to enter a stage race together for a couple of years, and I’m really excited to be taking part in The Appenninica with her. Mel will bring a great deal of experience to our team, having raced in numerous stage races over the years. She is a great technical rider and I’ll have to work hard for my little legs to keep up with her on the climbs!
EthicSport Official Sport Nutrition Partner
EthicSport is the Official Sport Nutrition Partner of Appenninica MTB Stage Race
An endurance race must be sustained not only by an adequate physical condition but also by optimal nutrition and food supplementation. Nothing can be left to chance because months of training can be thwarted without a plan on how to best meet your energy, hydration and recovery needs.
Appenninica MTB Stage Race presents a tough course with a Queen Stage (after 5 stages in the legs) of an incredible 112 km and over 4000 meters in elevation gain.
The format of the race – the first of its kind along the Apennines – includes 7 stages preceded by a prologue while the Appenninica4 version includes 4 stages. As you can imagine the recovery after each stage will be crucial.
How to fuel so not to compromise the result or even having to give up without more energy to spend?
Thanks to an important partnership the participants in Appenninica MTB Stage Race can count on the support – both in the preparation and during the race – of EthicSport, an Italian company (with its headquarters in Emilia Romagna), which is leader in sports nutrition in particular for endurance sports.
The credo of the company, appreciated and chosen by many top teams and athletes, is the uncompromising quality aimed at meeting the fueling needs of amateurs and professionals. Italian champions Samuele Porro and Mara Fumagalli, and European champion Alexey Medvedev are just some of the MTB stars who have been relying on EthicSport for their sport nutrition for years. Lorenza Menapace, fresh dominator of the Trans Andes Challenge and confirmed at the start-line of Appenninica, is also an EthicSport athlete.
All products are not only effective but very digestible and with a great flavor.
Informative content pieces prepared by the EthicSport experts on nutrition and food supplements and a specific stage-by-stage integration program, will be published on the Appenninica website and the EthicSport experts will be available to create customized sport nutrition programs and to answer riders’ questions.
During the week of the race, there will be products – in the form of drinks, gels and energy bars – available at the start of the stages and along the feed zones along the route.
Furthermore, the recovery zone EthicSport will be positioned right next to the finish line. Appenninica organizers will also have beverages and a warm carbo-protein dish at the end of each stage.
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