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Rocky Trail Entertainment
Stromlo to host Rocky Trail all-mountain race in Rollercoaster-style
As many shuttled runs to the top of Mt Stromlo as you can do all morning and then racing down Skyline and Luge...twice... a dream come true? The Rocky Trail crew heads to Stromlo for its all-mountain race on 1 September – the Rollercoaster is back with its Championship event.
Always on the pulse and responding to their racers’ every riding desire, earlier this year Rocky Trail introduced a new event concept to their racing portfolio with the Rollercoaster all-mountain racing series.
The Rocky Trail all-mountain races take riders to the top of the track via shuttle busses and bike trailers so they can smash out as many training runs as possible down a track that combines mostly fast and flowy descents with berms and cross-country singletrails as well as short and pinchy climbs.
“For the Championship event we picked Stromlo again – it’s ideal because we can get riders to the top of the track quickly and the race track has only short climbing sections, partly on fire trails”, explains race organiser Martin Wisata the event venue choice.
All-mountain racing embraced by all kinds of riders
At Rocky Trail’s first two all-mountain races a great variety of mountain bikers was at the start line – from cross-country endurance whippets like Michael Crummy, Shane Taylor and Michael Vanos to gravity guns like Blake Nielsen and Megavalanche age category winner Sebastien Deubel.
Adds Martin Wisata, “What really struck us was the great atmosphere at the finish line – you had those experienced cross-country and downhill racers smashing out lap after lap with passionate mountain bikers like you and me. Everyone had a story to tell about a new line they took in training or how their race run was.”
About the style of racing, Wisata said, “It's not downhill, it's not cross-country - it's the best of both worlds, which is so exciting! Our racers control the action, literally. They can check out the flowy singletrail descents and short pinchy firetrail climbs during training and then smash it as hard as they want during the race runs. With 30sec to 1min gaps between starters each rider will have the race track almost to him- or herself.”
With its start at the Stromlo Observatory the 5km race track for the Rollercoaster Championship event will again take riders across the ridge towards the popular Skyline section, which will lead them down Luge and will finish past the 4X hill in the event centre. The entry fee includes shuttled training runs all morning and two timed race runs, of which the best one counts.
Registration is open via www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Click here for a video by Michael Crummy (EnduroPulse, 5th at Stromlo's last Rollercoaster with Rocky Trail) from June 2012.
Photos by Robert Conroy/TheRoost
Taken at the Rocky Trail Rollercoaster All-Mountain Race at Stromlo Forest Park in June 2012.
View attachment 242224
As many shuttled runs to the top of Mt Stromlo as you can do all morning and then racing down Skyline and Luge...twice... a dream come true? The Rocky Trail crew heads to Stromlo for its all-mountain race on 1 September – the Rollercoaster is back with its Championship event.
Always on the pulse and responding to their racers’ every riding desire, earlier this year Rocky Trail introduced a new event concept to their racing portfolio with the Rollercoaster all-mountain racing series.
The Rocky Trail all-mountain races take riders to the top of the track via shuttle busses and bike trailers so they can smash out as many training runs as possible down a track that combines mostly fast and flowy descents with berms and cross-country singletrails as well as short and pinchy climbs.
“For the Championship event we picked Stromlo again – it’s ideal because we can get riders to the top of the track quickly and the race track has only short climbing sections, partly on fire trails”, explains race organiser Martin Wisata the event venue choice.
All-mountain racing embraced by all kinds of riders
At Rocky Trail’s first two all-mountain races a great variety of mountain bikers was at the start line – from cross-country endurance whippets like Michael Crummy, Shane Taylor and Michael Vanos to gravity guns like Blake Nielsen and Megavalanche age category winner Sebastien Deubel.
Adds Martin Wisata, “What really struck us was the great atmosphere at the finish line – you had those experienced cross-country and downhill racers smashing out lap after lap with passionate mountain bikers like you and me. Everyone had a story to tell about a new line they took in training or how their race run was.”
About the style of racing, Wisata said, “It's not downhill, it's not cross-country - it's the best of both worlds, which is so exciting! Our racers control the action, literally. They can check out the flowy singletrail descents and short pinchy firetrail climbs during training and then smash it as hard as they want during the race runs. With 30sec to 1min gaps between starters each rider will have the race track almost to him- or herself.”
With its start at the Stromlo Observatory the 5km race track for the Rollercoaster Championship event will again take riders across the ridge towards the popular Skyline section, which will lead them down Luge and will finish past the 4X hill in the event centre. The entry fee includes shuttled training runs all morning and two timed race runs, of which the best one counts.
Registration is open via www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Click here for a video by Michael Crummy (EnduroPulse, 5th at Stromlo's last Rollercoaster with Rocky Trail) from June 2012.
Photos by Robert Conroy/TheRoost
Taken at the Rocky Trail Rollercoaster All-Mountain Race at Stromlo Forest Park in June 2012.
View attachment 242224