Riders from more than 20 countries are arriving in Cairns to compete in the Crocodile Trophy mountain bike stage race. They will race for nine days for more than 900km and 15,000m of elevation to arrive in Port Douglas on 26th October. Today some of the riders visited the Tjabukai Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Cairns and received a warm welcome from the Tjabukai elders.
©Kenneth Lorensten
“Welcome to Cairns, we wish you lots of strength and best of luck for your journey over the next few days”, said Dennis Hunter, an Aboriginal Elder at Smithfield today.
2014 sees the Crocodile Trophy celebrate its 20th anniversary and for the first time it is registered as an official event of the international peak cycling industry body, the Union Cycliste Internationale / International Cycling Union (UCI). As a result for the first time participants can collect valuable UCI points, which are used for cyclist ranking internationally. In addition the Crocodile Trophy offers prize money to the value of AUD 40,000. Having said this the event is still open for all competitors including amateur riders. The Crocodile Trophy is open to individual elite and amateur men and women racers from 19 to 50 years and to teams of men, women and mixed.
Most diverse stage plan in Crocodile Trophy history
The Crocodile Trophy starts with a time trial on the MTB Cairns World Cup course this Saturday. This year’s race stage plan includes nine stages and the riders will race through dense rainforests in and around Cairns before heading up to the Atherton Tablelands for three days. Stage two on Sunday, 19th October, will take them to Lake Tinaroo and the racing circus will be based in Atherton for two more stages, which will feature the popular Atherton MTB Park and surrounding bushland before the Crocodile Trophy heads towards Irvinebank and the remote Outback on Wednesday, 22 October. The racers will have to endure the dry intense heat before finishing on the tropical coast of Port Douglas on the following Sunday.
©Regina Stanger
Over the nine days, the competitors will have to endure racing along dusty dirt roads, through dramatic rainforest roads, on old 4WD trails, sand tracks, across spectacular river crossings, up steep climbs, descending on rough downhills and along historic bullock tracks. While it is one of the most challenging MTB marathon stage races in the world it is open to professional riders and amateurs. As a result there are riders from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK taking part.
One of the biggest names in the field is Max Lelli – the Italian former pro road cyclist, a 14-time Tour de France finisher and Giro d’Italia bronze medallist from Tuscany. “It’s my first time in Australia and it is fascinating to be immersed in such an ancient culture”, he said today. Lelli travelled to Australia with three team members – Davide Cassani, Iader Fabbri and Matteo Marzotto, who compete in this challenging race to raise awareness for a cystic fibrosis-charity they support back home.
UCI status attracts world’s best
The Canadian Marathon National Champion, Cory Wallace (CAN), will compete in the Crocodile Trophy for the fourth time this year and is one of the main overall elite race favourites. His strongest competitors include the Crocodile Trophy winner from 2012, Ivan Rybaric from the Czech Republic as well as marathon racers Nicholas Pettina (ITA) and Yuki Ikeda (JPN). Strong contenders for the “Best Australian” leaders jersey include Andrew Hall from Canberra, Andrew Lloyd from Newcastle as well as Sydney’s Ondrej Slezak. The local man to watch will be Warren Pike from Cairns.
Frendo by ©Regina Stanger
Event summary:
Crocodile Trophy will be held for the 20th time this year
For the past decade the event has had it’s home in North Queensland.
Start: 18 October in Cairns at Smithfield MTB Park (12:00 race start – 30km lap race)
Finish: 26 October for the first time in Port Douglas (est. 11am-12pm on Four Mile Beach near Surf Life Saving Club)
100 competitors expected from almost 20 different countries
70+ organising staff to travel with the race
9 days, 100km to ride on average every day (total 900km distance, about 15,000m of elevation)
For the first time participants in the elite category will be able to collect international ranking points
Crocodile Trophy counts down to 2014 race start
The Crocodile Trophy will return to Tropical North Queensland from 18-26 October. As a UCI S1 race the event is now ranked as the biggest mountain bike stage race in the world for individual participants. This year even more of the popular Cairns and Atherton mountain bike trails will be at the heart of the racing action. New stage destinations like the Skybury Coffee Plantation near this year’s race finish in the beautiful holiday resort of Port Douglas also promise perfect settings for race participants and supporters to enjoy Queensland’s rough Outback, it’s lush rainforests and beautiful beaches up close.
The world’s oldest and said to be the toughest international mountain bike race (MTB) is set to take place in the remote far north of Australia. Starting October 18th the ‘Crocodile Trophy’ will see over 100 professional and amateur riders from around the world cycle 900km (nearly 560 miles) – basically nine marathons in a row. The participants will ride nine stages through lush rainforests, dry intense heat of the Outback and mountain trails climbing up to 2,500m per day, finishing on the tropical coast of Queensland.
So what makes this MTB race so unique?
There is no denying that in this part of the world the race can be hot. Having said this there are lots of opportunities to escape and cool down in lakes and in the shade of the rainforest, where more than half the race is held. In addition there are always cool showers available to the riders at the end of each day as well as a buffet with nutritious food, which is prepared by a chef. One of the additional challenges the competitors face is that they must use the same bike and wheels for the entirety of the race. To support this the race organisers offer bike maintenance and to keep the the riders in saddle medical support is on offer. While there is a variety of sleeping accommodation on offer for the nine days most competitors still camp. To deliver this event, an organisational crew of more than 70 staff is travelling with the racers, including kitchen crew, medical staff, operations managers and a media support team with camera crews and photographers.
One of the most passionate ‘Croc ambassadors’ is Canadian National Marathon Champion, Cory Wallace, who will be at the start in Cairns for the fourth time. “The Croc has the best diversity of any race I have done as we race on trails, outback roads and rough mining trails through a variety of terrain including jungles and the dry dusty outback”, says the 2013 Crocodile Trophy runner-up Wallace, who is one of this year’s strongest title contenders. “I love this stage race more than any other because it is by far the most challenging race worldwide I know of. In addition it is raced in one of the most beautiful areas in the world.”
Race details:
· What: Crocodile Trophy international mountain bike stage race
· When: 18th – 26th October 2014.
· Starts: 12pm at Smithfield Mountain Bike Park near Cairns, QLD
· Finishes: est. 11am-12pm on Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, QLD
