There is no doubt about it, endurance mountain bike racing is the most popular format in Australia currently. The calender is bursting with 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hour events around the country. Event promoters are putting on new Marathons and Stage Races, making prioritising an important choice for racers.
But the sport has foundations, new and old. The Flight Centre Cycle Epic is a stalwart of the Marathon scene, typically running from Toowoomba to Hidden Vale in a classic point to point style. The first event was run in 2003, and it has grown from there. The race is typified by a quality field, a great finish location, stunning organisation and a wealthy prize pool. In 2006 it was also the National XCM Championship.
Things change though, and after the devastating floods in Queensland earlier this year, the Flight Centre Cycle Epic has had to change course. All else remains. The race is set for weekend of August 6-7th. Great accommodation packages are available for riders at Old Hidden Vale.
“With regard to this year’s Epic; there are big changes due to the flood” said Event Director Peter Creagh.
“Jongewaard, English and Willett are attending. The prize pool is 1st $5,000, 2nd $3,000, 3rd $2,000 for men and women. It would be good to see southern riders make the trip to Queensland or the Flight Centre Merida guys will clean up without breaking into a sweat.” Clearly Creagh is keen to see hard racing at the front of the field, and the winners cheques should provide some motivation for the deep Marathon talent that lies south of the Tweed River.
Regarding the course changes due to the loss of the Ma Ma Creek singletrack, Creagh cautions viewing it on numbers alone, “75km sounds good but … Well it wouldn’t be the Epic if you didn’t have wipe your eyes.” There will still be a shorter option, set at 50km. Both courses run out of Old Hidden Vale, and more information can be found at the event website. There are 23 days to go – better lock an entry in!
With inclement weather again forcing a change of date for The Husky 100, it now sits on the same weekend as the Flight Centre Cycle Epic, being raced on August 7th. It is also the 3rd round of the Real Insurance XCM Series, powered by CycleNation. This series has proven to be a great boost to Marathon racing in NSW so far, and should prove to be a great foundation for a unified series, perhaps even at National level. Many of the nations top Marathon racers will already hold an entry to the postponed event – so where will their allegience lie? Those with interests in the overall series, only need to count three events in the series – but is that a gamble? The prize pool up north is deeper, but a leaders jersey in a series has quality kudos. There are still entries available on the event website. The trails are known to be fast and fun, and it was a popular event in its inaugural year in 2010.
Australia has plenty of Marathon fire power. Where will the hitters end up? MarathonMTB.com will keep you updated from both races, with stories from the front of the pack. Stay tuned.