The Crocodile Trophy is the oldest mountain bike stage race in the world and in 2014 will celebrate its 20th anniversary with start in Cairns. In honour of this jubilee and major milestone for the event, its organisers decided to join the UCI and just introduced Port Douglas as the finish destination for 2014.

The Crocodile Trophy has been known as the most adventurous mountain bike stage race in the world and it will become a UCI event category S1. As an official UCI race the event will still be open for professionals and elites, amateur racers as well as recreational cyclists. The infamous stage race is not only the oldest and most renowned mountain bike stage race in the world, but it also features the biggest solo competitor field of any stage race of that dimension. With a new and larger infrastructure the Crocodile Trophy will be able to host more participants than in previous years.

New stage plan: Cairns to Port Douglas
The organisers confirmed that for the 2014 anniversary race, there will be at least four completely new stages in the nine-day tour program through Far North Queensland. The start of the race for stage one will be a lap race at the World Cup track of Smithfield Mountain Bike Park near Cairns before the start to stage two will be held at the Cairns Esplanade and over the following stages rider will race the popular Atherton mountain bike trails in lush rainforests before venturing deep into the remote Australian Outback on spectacular tracks and trails towards Mount Mulligan. Heading back East towards the coast instead of North towards Cooktown as in previous years, the Crocodile Trophy field in 2014 will ride to Wetherby Station and finishing the 900km race on the picturesque Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas.

“The Crocodile Trophy offers a unique adventure and with its new UCI S1 status a high-profile event on the international stage racing calendar for elite and amateur racers. We strive to provide our competitors with great value – the catering and logistics package alone for the nine-day event is valued at more than AU$1300 per rider”, says Event Director Gerhard Schönbacher.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Alex de Waal said the iconic Crocodile Trophy aligned with TTNQ’s events strategy which included marketing the region as a world-class mountain biking destination. “High profile events such as this gruelling race attract international attention from both recreational and competitive riders as well as the mountain biking media allowing us to showcase the region’s diverse trails,” he said.

Australian riders keen to race the Croc
Racers at the Crocodile Trophy come from all over the world, the majority from Europe, where the event has been hugely popular. However, with more than a third of the field Australian and a local race winner with Mark Frendo in 2013, the organisers expect even more local participants from Down Under this year. With Rocky Trail Entertainment the Crocodile Trophy organisers have brought an Australian-based events partner on board in recent years. Whilst Juliane Wisata will work as the event’s press officer during the nine days of the race, Rocky Trail’s Managing Director Martin Wisata will be at the start line of the “Croc”, as he cheekily calls it, for the fifth time this year.

The 36-year old will start in the Master 1 category and said that the event was a huge opportunity for Australian elite riders to collect valuable UCI points for the first time in 2014, however, it was also a great adventure for every-day mountain bikers with the ever-increasing off-road and singletrail components in the stage plan. “The Croc has changed quite dramatically over the past years”, Wisata explained. “The stages are shorter and very diverse now – it’s basically nine marathons in a row and every day you face a different terrain, different conditions and a new challenge. You ride from lush rainforests into the dry heat and back to the tropical coast … it’s fascination and insanity all in one! Maybe that’s why I’m addicted to it.”

The event dates are: 18th – 26th October 2014.
Stage plan 2014: http://www.crocodile-trophy.com/index.php?id=107
For further race information and to register, please check out the event website www.crocodile-trophy.com

Interested Australian but also International riders can contact Juliane or Martin Wisata at Rocky Trail Entertainment directly for more information – contact details are as follows:

Juliane Wisata
Marketing & Media Manager in Australia and NZ
E: juliane@rockytrailentertainment.com
M: 0416 737 972

Martin Wisata
Participant and Crocodile Trophy ambassador Australia
E: martin@rockytrailentertainment.com
M: 0403 090 952