The Crocodile Trophy hangs like a myth in the minds of many mountain bikers. The truth is a long way from the fiction, and we have busted some myths about the Crocodile Trophy in the past. There aren’t countless days of corrugated roads. There aren’t really any crocodiles (ok there were freshwater ones where we swam in 2012…) and it doesn’t favour road riders. Much of the 2016 Crocodile Trophy centres on the trails on the Atherton Tablelands.
The trails of Atherton are purpose built. But you need to be prepared for less manicured trails too.
And while the Crocodile Trophy has shrunk in size, and is now down to 8 stages – it is still a considerable length, and takes a big investment in training, plus time off work and away from your family and ‘the real world’. As much as that might be attractive, it isn’t always possible.
Taste of the Crocodile Trophy
This year, for the first time the Crocodile Trophy’s local partner, the Cairns Mountain Bike club is offering four public race stages, where everyone can get a “Taste of the Croc” as part of their Gravitate Tropical MTB Festival. The club will be hosting Stages 1+2 and the final Stages 7+8 for anyone who wants to join the Crocodile Trophy on their racing journey – this is the chance to be part of this legendary event and to catch the racing bug – and a discount – for one future full edition of this stage race.
Last year, Australian XCM Champion Brendan Johnston finished 3rd overall at the Croc.
As the oldest mountain bike stage race of its kind in the world, the Crocodile Trophy is also one of the toughest that’s out there and to compete in it with racers from all over the world is as much commitment as it is an amazing experience. The Crocodile Trophy has its home in the heart of tropical north Queensland in Australia and goes for eight days from the jungle in Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands via bush singletrack in one Australia’s most popular mountain bike parks.
The trails in Atherton are modern mountain bike trails – hard work but a lot of fun! Photo: Robert Conroy
The Crocodile Trophy also travels through the unique Outback to Wetherby Station, which is where the final time trial starts down the historical Bump Track.
The Bump Track takes you down the range to the beach.
The time trial, and whole race, finishes on the breathtakingly beautiful Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas – all that via picturesque towns, the Skybury Coffee Plantation and Wetherby Cattle Station. This is one of the most versatile stage routes out there.
Where else can you finish a ride, or race, in a place like this?
“We are launching this supporting event especially for Australian and local riders, so that they can be a part of the legendary Crocodile Trophy”, said Cairns MTB Club president, Frank Falappi. “If you’ve always wanted to ‘do the Croc’, this would be the ideal event to get into it.”
The stages are split over two weekends so it is easy to do both with a holiday in between, he added. It certainly presents a great opportunity for a holiday in the tropics, visit the reef and enjoy the many attractions the Cairns and Port Douglas regions in Tropical North Queensland have to offer, agreed race organiser Gerhard Schoenbacher.
Even if you don’t race the Croc, there is a lot to do on and off the bike.
“For overseas amateur racers it’s the experience of a lifetime and even though we do get quite a few that come again and again, we know it’s a big time commitment. We’re hoping that this new supporting event will suit especially the Australian riders – if you’re a local racer, you really only have to take one day off- day the Friday for stage seven”, Schoenbacher explained.
Lake Eacham is part of the lakes loop – well worth a visit for a freshwater dip.
The entry fee for two days is $220 and $390 for the four-day event, which will be a part of the club’s Gravitate Tropical Mountain Bike Festival. The club will support racers with shuttle services and has arranged lunches and feed zone access with the Crocodile Trophy organisers. To sweeten the deal, all “Taste”-racers will get a discount towards one full Crocodile Trophy registration, equivalent to your entry fee to the Taste the Croc race.
For more details, visit the Crocodile Trophy website or the Gravitate MTB Festival online portal. Online registration will open soon and will be announced via the online and social media websites of the Crocodile Trophy and the Cairns MTB Club.
Take yourself to Croc country this October.