After a spectacular Kona Odyssey which now tops the ranks as my favourite marathon, I am spending the next three weeks in anticipation of my first stage race, Bike Buller. As far as providing the best possible introduction to stage racing, the guys at Rapid Ascent have thought it through well. Many stage races across the globe focus solely on the race. During the race period, a rider typically lives and breathes the race and its vibe. While this is ideal for seasoned professionals, that atmosphere may not be the most inviting for the weekend warrior. Buller is also a stage race which starts and finishes in the same region rather than a point-to-point style race, removing the logistics of packing up and moving each stage. The event is intended to be a family affair, with plenty of activities off the trail to keep the support crew interested.
That said, the race has attracted some of the biggest names in our sport including Andy Fellows, Murray Spink, Jess Douglas and Jo Wall. This year’s event is challenged again by Murray Spink and Jess Douglas who both won the event in 2009. Other names include Giant Factory rider Josh Carlson, Ben Randall, Dan MacMunn, Duncan Muray and Myriam Guillot. Myriam has just come off a third place and QOM at last week’s Kona Odyssey and is the current Adventure Race World Champion.
Bike Buller is not just a race. It’s a festival of gourmet food, music, wine and mountain biking – pretty well all of my favourite pastimes! Conveniently, three of these are also favoured by my better half, making it infinitely easier to put the event forward as a holiday with a bike race in between, rather than a gruelling stage race where one would be needed as a soigneur. The event is held in conjunction with Picnic in the Park at the base of Mount Buller on Sunday.
The event is made up of three stages spread across the 10-12th March Victoria long weekend. The race kicks off on the Saturday with a demanding 50km XC race, followed by a five hour lap based race with a down-hill flavour, and ending with a short and sharp 25km race on the Monday.
What gets a lift up, gets a ride down.
The 5h brake-burner stage format is becoming very popular on the racing scene even making its way in to the MTBA National Series under the Super-D name. Many riders heading to Buller have opted to just race this stage and consequently this one is a sell-out. Since dominating Super-D at the National Series rounds, Josh Carlson has been frothing at the thought of five hours of it, and all other riders risk losing significant time on the classification here.
The shorter race on the final day allows competitors the time to enjoy the post-race BBQ with live music and to travel and arrive home in good time before fronted with the reality of the working week.
Entries are still open for the 25km and 50km XC races through the Rapid Ascent website.
I will be covering the race and festival each day so be sure to check back for updates!
