Entries Open for 2011 24 Scott 24Hr - 8 & 9 October 2011 at Stromlo

[Delmar]

The Rockstar team also decided night riding was a little too hard apparently....

The event was well run, heaps of great volunteers and everything going smoothly (including presentations etc), the track conditions were fantastic (especially at night). There were a couple of sensible and smooth course alterations too, once for conditions, and another time when some poor soul crashed out on the luge. Big thanks to CORC and everyone involved, it was a fantastic event that delivered great riding and racing!

+ 1. Usual slick affair. Don't know what the rockstars are talking about there, but to ride a track that good, with facilities that good, without any hitches I'm aware of... is awesome! Heck, we were in a tight race at the top of our category for the whole race, so we smashed the castech site on the iphones. The stuff of dreams when I started racing!

Thanks to all the organisers and volunteers, another great weekend...

 

[pi11wizard]

I wasn't there this year, but the Rockstar folks posted on Twitter yesterday:
"Scott24 hr needs 2 step up, not the premier event it used to be. New blood needed in their ranks."
Obviously I don't have a clue who or what that was aimed at regarding the race, but what did you lot think of the event this year?
Verdict on the tracks? Amenities? All the usual stuff!

I love seeing the Sportograf pics- for the average punter like myself to get some snazzy pics like these is a real buzz!

Pretty poor form for a professional bike outfit to criticise a VOLUNTEER run event. I have no hand in running the event but I imagine a lot of people put their heart and sole into running it, so if the rockstars think they can do a better job - perhaps they should put up or shut up.

Chatting to Russ, he mentioned the large number of unclaimed bags at rego. Evidentally the weather scared a lot of people away so the event didn't seem as enormous as in past years.

From a CORC organization perspective, it seemed to be the same event as in previous years. Everything ticked along smoothly just like you'd expect.

I had a great time.

ps GoEd

 

[Knopey]

Poor form from the Rockstars to say that, and not sure why they stopped at about 11pm in the 3's male category? If it was 'cos it was dark and scary, well... They started again at 6am but still didn't catch up to us! (Just) woohoo suffer in ya jocks

Anyway back in happyland, I had an AWESOME weekend, achieved my aim in lap times and had some nice chats with riders out there. People are pretty chilled at 3am!

Thanks CORC and vollies!

 

[cleeshoy]

well Fyshwick is only 20-odd mins from Stromlo - perhaps the urge to buy adult entertainment products was stronger then doing midnight laps? :-D

 

[leftieant]

I wasn't there this year, but the Rockstar folks posted on Twitter yesterday:
"Scott24 hr needs 2 step up, not the premier event it used to be. New blood needed in their ranks."
Obviously I don't have a clue who or what that was aimed at regarding the race, but what did you lot think of the event this year?
Verdict on the tracks? Amenities? All the usual stuff!

I love seeing the Sportograf pics- for the average punter like myself to get some snazzy pics like these is a real buzz!

I rckon they're going down the 'any publicity is good publicity' route and just making as much noise as they can on any topic that takes their fancy. I remember a few months back one of them spouting off on Twitter about not getting a special late start for the Huski 100, and going to take their bat and ball home.

I am surprised though that a brand like Giant chooses to associate with them - on one hand they try to make cycling more accessible and less scary with programs like Real Riders, on the other hand they support elitist wankers like RR.

Maybe the fact that we are now talking about it is exactly what they want? Should we just shut up about them and deprive them of oxygen?

 

[frensham]

I wasn't there this year, but the Rockstar folks posted on Twitter yesterday:
"Scott24 hr needs 2 step up, not the premier event it used to be. New blood needed in their ranks."
Obviously I don't have a clue who or what that was aimed at regarding the race, but what did you lot think of the event this year?
Verdict on the tracks? Amenities? All the usual stuff
I love seeing the Sportograf pics- for the average punter like myself to get some snazzy pics like these is a real buzz!

Bunch of princesses, all of 'em. They were an absolute pain the arse at the Mont this year too. Sad that they really think they are rockstars.....
We don't need 'em. Scott 24 doesn't need 'em, neither does any other well run race. I'm sure if they look hard enough they will find the dummy's they spat out on the trail somewhere.

 

[HerdingCats]

Great, durable track

Wasn't the track outstanding? It coped well with the weather: apart from the mud fest at the end of the RED lap (sensibly rerouted), it was hard to fault. As a punter, the mix of skills needed was very satisfying (eg negotiating Deep Creek and Shadys, or getting line choice sorted for Luge).

 

[Tacky Monster]

Agreed, a great well run event in my opinion. The red blue lap system works great, I reckon it should be used for all 24 hour races, less congestion and makes the race more interesting. I found people more accommodating to let me pass when I asked (compared to previous races), which might be due to less congestion on the track with the red blue system and people being more chilled out.

Only thing I thought could have been done better is more bunting. One of our team mates (non-local) ended up down roller-coaster at night and the first riders back on the crit track from the blue lap went down the wrong way (left instead of straight ahead) resulting in them finishing where the red finishers.

 

[orphic]

I had a really fantastic time. Thanks to everyone involved in putting this event together. Rocked up to the Scott two years ago as a non mountain biker to support some friends and was so blown away by it all that I decided I would race it solo one day. Pretty damn stoked that became a reality when crossed the finish line yesterday.

I was pretty nervous about the whole teams passing aspect but it didn't seem as bad as I thought, although I did find myself getting extremely nervous when people were passing on skyline and luge. Keen to hear impressions from people who did more passing as opposed to getting passed? Most guys were pretty relaxed about it which was nice...

 

[Hornsby]

As usual another fantastic event put on by CORC, many thanks and congratulations go to the team behind this event.
Had a fantastic time racing/riding and really enjoyed the two separate laps, the laps were just long enough that a punter like myself could easily complete two laps back to back in the middle of the night without too much effort. The run down from the top of the mountain at the end of the red lap is to be the best end to any lap of any race I've ever down, it had our team changing places just so we could ride it.
Can't really see where the event needs to step up, it's a brillant event run for bike riders by bike riders.
The only problems are that I live in Sydney and I can't ride stromlo enough to know all the lines beforehand and the drive home is a bigger struggle than getting out of the tent at 4am.

 

[c3024446]

Fantastic event, thank you to the organisers. Stromlo really is a great facility isn’t it. Red and Blue laps were fantastic, plenty of overtaking places everywhere (on climbs and flats anyway), no congestion what-so-ever, not once was I riding down Skyline, Luge, Deep Creek or Party Line either holding someone up or the other way around.

Doing doubles was also very easy, the last 4km of each lap being the most fun you can have with clothes on and got you nice and rested to start the next lap. Shadys and ABC Switchbacks hurt big time, but the rewards on the other side make them worth it.

One complaint: The TP in the toilets – “Costsaver”- oh dear. Will remember to bring my own next year! Oh, and a 9 or 10am start as suggested in the other thread gets my approval.

 

[EzyLee]

I had an awesome weekend, the rain made it for me. Apart from the mud pit on the last km of the red lap that was re-reouted, the course held up amazingly well and it just got more buff as the 24 hours went on. The transition, although fairly confusing for the first two laps worked well, the big screen with live coverage from the course was awesome. It gave those people not riding a bit of an idea what was happening out on course.

So did anyone catch anyone hitting up a 'shortcut' on the blue lap coming up missing link? I caught people from the same team twice! Two very sheepish responses two. Have to laugh at people feeling they need to cheat in an event like this.

Best track has to be party line though, so much flow!

As for the twitter feed of rockstar racing... I don't know what to think about that, if they have some ideas about how to make it a better event maybe they can share them with CORC, but carrying on like that isn't doing themselves any favours in the public eye.

 

[akashra]

Pretty poor form for a professional bike outfit to criticise a VOLUNTEER run event. I have no hand in running the event but I imagine a lot of people put their heart and sole into running it, so if the rockstars think they can do a better job - perhaps they should put up or shut up.

This is the kind of attitude and response that sees events descend in to over time becoming crap.
Criticism needs to be taken on so that what's negative can be addressed and improved so noone can complain. Brushing it off with "well we don't see you doing better" is just a petty way of saying "cbf".
They're well within their rights to present what they liked and didn't like about the event, and if they have nothing to praise of it, that's their prerogative - just as others are within their rights to read or choose to not listen to what they have to say.

I do admit, specifics would be more helpful than their comments, but all feedback should be welcomed of any event, not just blowing-smoke-up-asses, "omg we're so perfect!" positive feedback.

 

[loc81]

I agree that events need open discussion and honesty- good or bad. My gripe was it needs to go a bit further than 160 characters, and preferably on here or somewhere similar.
I laughed at the TP comment- ALWAYS have some good bog roll in your car at ALL times!


Bikes, booze and music. Done!

 

[pi11wizard]

This is the kind of attitude and response that sees events descend in to over time becoming crap.
Criticism needs to be taken on so that what's negative can be addressed and improved so noone can complain. Brushing it off with "well we don't see you doing better" is just a petty way of saying "cbf".
They're well within their rights to present what they liked and didn't like about the event, and if they have nothing to praise of it, that's their prerogative - just as others are within their rights to read or choose to not listen to what they have to say.

I do admit, specifics would be more helpful than their comments, but all feedback should be welcomed of any event, not just blowing-smoke-up-asses, "omg we're so perfect!" positive feedback.

And my point being that they should criticise the event, not the individuals involved in running it. If they don't like the catering - say so. If they think they should be able to park the rockstar car in the middle of the run leg - say so. But calling for new blood without actually giving a reason why is pretty lame.

 

[shmumeal]

Had an awesome race with my team mates, track was absolutely amazing we only got a bit of traffic on the second lap after a slow start from our first rider. I agree with everything EzyLee mentioned, I can only think of couple things to make the event actually perfect:


-Rascals, every time it is included into events, seems to end up a mess, must be an area where water runs off naturally occurs. Probably not ideal for 24hr races in the future.
- The figure 8 lap system is a stroke of genius, however the rules behind transition, or even a diagram on the event program to explain where you can and cannot be (it did take a few laps to get the system down) would have be hugely helpful.

 

[pinkbike]

So did anyone catch anyone hitting up a 'shortcut' on the blue lap coming up missing link? I caught people from the same team twice! Two very sheepish responses two. Have to laugh at people feeling they need to cheat in an event like this.

Didn't we come up missing link anyway *confused* and pop out of missing link next the check point caravan before heading into party line? Personally didn't see anyone shortcutting the course, had no issues with overtaking or being overtaken although some tracks do mean you just have to wait for a bit before there's space.

I thought the tracks were awesome, the red and blue loop design is the schizzz - would love to see that every year. Red lap being a bog near the end was no surprise, it gets boggy even when it's dry everywhere else - very sensible reroute but not before some carnage in wheel eating mud patches in the dark. Otherwise the tracks seemed to hold up pretty well expect when it was actually raining, the puddles that did develop drained away again pretty quickly.

Agree with above post that transition was confusing and a map of where to wait and where to keep clear would have been great. Especially the start of red loop transition got stupid with everyone waiting in the way of people trying to start the lap - but that was pretty minor in the scheme of things. Once we got the hang of transition it was fine, just the first few laps were mayhem.

The course felt empty this year, but so did the camping areas .... down on numbers? Perhaps the rain scared some people off but it definitely felt like a much smaller event than the previous two years.

Only major issue I have is CORC yet again, shafting the female entrants with the T-shirts. They claimed after the Mont that the lack of female T-shirts was due to a supplier issue and they'd planned to have female sizes. But now it seems that really they just can't be arsed making the effort for the female riders... poor form when the winning female solo goes home with a T-shirt that won't even fit her! I expect more from a club who apparently go the extra mile to get women into the sport.

Of course it was also annoying planning everything to get there before 7pm only to have the gates locked on us early due to the track conditions... :mmph: but I know that CORC has to protect the tracks and the weather wasn't cooperating... so they did their best.

 

[EzyLee]

Sorry, the shortcut was part of missing link. There are a number of switchbacks and there is a section where you can get off your bike and hike a bike over some rocks about 5m up to the next section. You could probably cut 20 seconds off your lap time by doing this.

 

[Slezoj]

Bernard Riders Racing

Bernard Riders had a great time down in Canberra and we loved it! Will be back for more.

Also you can have a look at our race report.

http://www.bernardriders.com.au/scott-24-mtb-championship/

 

[frame]

I had the best time for a long while. Coming down the hill on the red lap at 2 am is mad as hell. Was impressed with people riding and passing well everywhere. Ace weekend !!