15/06/2026
In the midst of the rainy season, the second round of the Taiwanese Gravel Fundo series took place in truly atrocious conditions. The Goblin chief, was the sole representative of the Goblin Bikes team this time, his usual teammates all citing more or less credible reasons for skipping the race. Will those who withdrew have a ride for the third round? It's far from certain; ultimately, it's his decision. Here's what he told us after the race:
"I registered despite being completely out of shape, and I'd already decided to approach the race in survival mode, which turned out to be the only way. In the end, we saw a 50% dropout rate among the men in such a short 19km race... In the over-fifty category, only two of us finished, so second place for me behind a kid thirteen years my junior. A little anecdote: I thought I'd never make it out of a 50m long, off-camber singletrack where I must have fallen flat on my face a good ten times in the mud, trying to push my bike! A huge thank you to the course marshal who pulled me out of that quagmire. Ah, we'll remember this one, and contrary to what they think, those who weren't there were definitely wrong."
