What happens when you throw a dedicated roadie - one with only one other mountain bike race under his belt - into a long-distance mountain bike marathon race in Italy? Well, there’s only one way to find out…

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Earlier this year, off-road.cc decided that it’d be hilarious to see how I, a roadie that prefers to keep my tyres firmly attached to good-quality tarmac, would cope when thrown into a long-distance cross-country mountain bike race, namely the Rally di Romagna.

I’ve been racing cyclocross for a few years and racing on the road for even longer, but illusions of being the next Matthieu Van der Poel were dashed in the beautiful hills surrounding Bagno di Romagna. 

Looks like I’ll need to borrow (steal) a bike from the off-road lot and do a bit of practising, but even after a few rides, the appeal of riding a bouncy bike is clear. I think it might be my winter cycling project, to get better at riding the steep stuff and jumping the jumps!

Are you a roadie that turns to the trails in the winter? And more importantly, do you have any tips for me?

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