Bike Buller has been growing and evolving over the past years, and it would be easy to look at the line up and think there isn’t as much to offer the cross-country or marathon racer as there used to be. But that would be wrong. While many of the newer events are gravity focused, the core cross-country events remain, and they certainly go against any of the complaints that some riders elsewhere in the country might have of boring courses.
Bike Buller runs across the Victorian long weekend from 11-13th March, 2017. There are four events that should pull you up to Mt Buller for the long weekend.
Stonefly Circuit
When you first hear about Stonefly, it’s easy to think that it will be a nice loop with a long descent. Well – that is sort of right. Stonefly is a fantastic trail that is well and truly settled in to the terrain. The 40km Saturday race has a mass start in the Mt Buller village before heading out to Stonefly, then a firetrail ride back towards the resort and you even have a chairlift up before the final sprint to the finish!
Full details of this race are online.
Buller Blitz
Another Saturday race, this 20km option takes in two laps of the village trails like Copperhead and Gang Gangs, and is better suited for riders who don’t have the legs for the Stonefly Circuit, taking off just 10 minutes later. There is less climbing than the Stonefly Circuit, but you do need to enter the longer event if you want to be in contention for the ‘XC Whippet’ overall point score.
Full details of this race are online.
Brake Burner Enduro
Don’t forget your spare brake pads, as this Sunday race is a multi-lap run of a 7km all-mountain descent. There is 300m of descending with some small climbs. You just have to get in as many as possible, using the Northside Chairlift.
Full details of this race are online.
20km Cornhill XC
One last race to finish the legs off! This race falls on Monday, and is a mass-start race from the Village taking in the best pieces of singletrack in Mt Buller, with about four or five climbs punctuating the route.
Full details of this race are online.
Bike Buller has plenty to offer for the cross-country racer, and the XC Whippet event makes for a handy stage race over the long weekend. Coming two weeks after the Otway Odyssey, and two weeks before the Bendigo Golden Triangle Epic, Bike Buller has great timing for Victorian riders to make sure their legs are firing!