Day 1 of the Crocodile Trophy 2011 cancelled due to heavy rain
It was a perfect day for the 17th edition of the Crocodile Trophy as it had not rained for almost two months. Last year’s runner-up and the Olympic Champion, Bart Brentjens, was not participating in the event.
As the cyclists got ready for the day 1, heavy rain drained away the race. Not only did it keep pouring on the main day but the intensity was so high that it became too risky to continue the event.
The race was due to start at 9:30 am on the 18th of October and the cyclists were all set to go across the 98 kilometres stage 1 when it started to rain the night before, making it almost impossible for the organisers to get the track ready.
Even the 4WD vehicles of the supporting crew and the media cars were unable to make it through the devastating mud and water.
However, the organisers were quick enough to make the decision of calling it a day as they neutralised the race.
Former champion, Brentjens stated on the occassion that the Crocodile Trophy is one of the hardest mountain stage races.
He said, "The Crocodile Trophy is no holiday, it is one of the hardest mountain bike races in the world and you need to be on top of your game. I am looking at flight options and will return to the Netherlands".
Crocodile Trophy is a ten day stage race that tests the riders across 1200 kilometres of rainforests and difficult terrains across Australia.
Around 100 riders are invited to the Crocodile Trophy every year. It was expected that the track will have less dust this year than its prior editions.
There was absolutely no dust but, instead, the track was covered with heaps of mud which made it very hard for the riders to ride on.
Race organizer, Gerhard Schonbacher, shared his thoughts about the stage as he mentioned that even the race cars could not make their way through the difficult track.
He stated, “Without our guidance, the riders would not have been able to find their way to the finish in Lake Tinaroo. But more importantly, the support vehicles with food and drinks for the riders at the feeding stations, as well as the doctors were unable to follow the race track”.
The Crocodile Trophy, as the name suggests, is one of the most adventurous mountain races but it became extremely dangerous to hold the event due to the heavy rain.
Stage 2 of the Crocodile Trophy is scheduled to start on the 19th of October, as the riders cover a total distance of 106 kilometres.
It will be interesting to see how the cyclists tackle the second day of the race, starting from Lake Tinaroo and finishing at Koombooloomba Dam. The bad news is that it is expected to rain again during stage 2 of the Crocodile Trophy 2011.
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