Mountain biking in Australia explained

Mountain Biking Australia Limited
Abbrev:	MTBA
Sport:	Mountain Biking
Category:	Lifestyle activity
Jurisdiction:	Australia
Headquarters:	Varsity Lakes, Queensland
Chiefexec:	Shane Coppin
Url:	https://www.mtba.org.au/
Countryflag:	Australia

Mountain biking in Australia is a mix of dedicated mountain bike parks, ski resorts with mountain bike facilities, and other parks that have become popular with mountain bikers despite lacking dedicated facilities. The peak body for the sport is Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA).^[1]

Facilities

Australian Capital Territory

Mount Stromlo Forest Park has international standard tracks including a downhill track, 60 kilometres of cross-country, four-cross track, and a dedicated mountain bike trials course. There is also a testing track known as "the playground" for training and testing demonstration bikes.^[2]

• Sparrow Hill, part of Kowen Pine Forest, 11 km from Queanbeyan on the Kings Highway, and 25 minutes from Canberra CBD, has 50 km of world-class cross-country tracks renowned for being fast and flowing, popular with beginner and elite alike. All tracks are named and maintained, and clear signage offers numerous routes of varying length.^[3]

New South Wales

• Manly Dam, Sydney^[4]
• Thredbo^[5]
• Oaks Fire Trail, Blue Mountains
• Hunter Valley

Tasmania

Tasmania has a strong mountain biking culture^[6] with a large network of tracks around the state including the world class Blue Derby^[7] which hosted the in 2017.^{[8] [9]} Hollybank, Wellington Park and Trevallyn are other popular mountain biking areas.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Victoria

Since the early 2000s, investment in mountain biking facilities has produced a number of areas of high quality trails. The 2006 Commonwealth Games in particular caused the creation of the Lysterfield Park mountain bike network, including the 6.4 kilometre race circuit. Nearly 60 mountain biking clubs are registered with Mountain Bike Australia. The trail network at Mount Buller is one of only three "IMBA Ride Centers" outside the US designated by the International Mountain Biking Association.^{[13] [14]}

Parks Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) have assisted with the creation of trail networks in recent years, such as at Forrest and Lysterfield Park. In 2012, Parks supported the creation of a downhill trail in Kinglake National Park, the first mountain bike trail in a Victorian national park. The trail, Shepherds, follows an existing powerline easement to minimise environmental damage.^[15]

From the mid-2000s, a large number of tracks began to be constructed, with support from government agencies, local councils and tourism bodies. Reasons for the growth included the need to replace shrinking or displaced industries (as with the timber industry at Forrest), the need to supplement short ski seasons (as at all the ski resorts except Mount Hotham), the desire to attract more visitors to the national parks (as with Kinglake) and the need for facilities to support a growing sport (as with Lysterfield Park).

Formal trail networks:

Location	XC trails (number)	XC trails (km)	Downhill trails	Lift services
Lysterfield Park^[16]	14	21	2	-
You Yangs^[17]	15	37.6	2	-
	10^[18]	10	1^[19]	Shuttle (specific dates)
Mount Buller^[20]	16	50+	7	1 lift, 1 shuttle (seasonal)
Falls Creek^[21]	4	67.4	(under construction)	1 (specific dates)
Big Hill (Mount Beauty)^[22]	14^[23]	40-50	2	-
Mount Hotham^[24]	?	?	-	-
Lake Mountain^[25]	8	15	-	-
Forrest^[26]	16	50+	-	-
Beechworth^[27]	9	19.2	1 DH, 1 jumps	-
Wombat State Forest^[28]	1	23	-	-
Nowa Nowa^[29]	7	27.4	-	-
Kinglake^[30]	-	-	1 (2 under construction)	-
Erica^[31]	?	30	-	-
Colquoun State Forest^[32]	?	?	-	-

Other important mountain biking areas include:

Great Dividing Trail

This 280 km hiking trail has several sections which are popular with mountain bikers, especially between Daylesford and Castlemaine.

Wombat State Forest

Site of the annual 100 kilometre endurance event, the Wombat 100.

Dandenong Ranges

Avoca

Site of the annual Marathon Challenge.^[33]

External links

• Bancoora website extensive list of locations with photos and videos of a lot of Victorian trails.
• Trailmate list of locations.
• ทางเข้าib888สล็อตออนไลน์ สล็อตเว็บตรง เล่นง่ายๆ รับโบนัสฟรี Independent commercial organisation providing a relatively comprehensive list of competition events run by clubs and private promoters.
• Trailforks list of trails & locations across Australia.

Competitions

Major races and other competitions include:

• Wombat 100 - 100 kilometre singletrack/firetrail course held near Woodend each year.
• Marathon Challenge
• Mountain bike orienteering events run by Orienteering Victoria^[34]
• Otway Odyssey - 100 kilometre held at Forrest.
• Granite Grind - 4 hour enduro event held at Lake Mountain.^[35]
• Bike Buller - a 'festival' of events at Mt Buller.^[36]
• Convict 100 - 100 kilometer held in St Albans, New South Wales
• Cape to Cape - Multi Day Endurance ride in Western Australia

Athletes

Successful Australian mountain bikers include:

• Cadel Evans: competed at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics before switching to road cycling.
• Nathan Rennie: downhill
• Sam Hill: downhill
• Bryn Atkinson: downhill
• Jared Rando: Four-cross and downhill
• Trent Lowe: cross country, switched to road cycling.
• Jared Graves: 2009 Four-cross World Champion
• Caroline Buchanan: 2009, 2010, 2013 Four-cross World Champion; 2013 BMX World Champion. 2013 Australian Cyclist of the Year.

Notes and References

1. Web site: AusCycling | Home Page .
2. Web site: Home. 3 November 2021.
3. http://sparrowhill.info Sparrow Hill website
4. Web site: The Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group. Northern Beaches MTB.
5. Web site: Thredbo boasts Australia's longest downhill mountain bike trail . 14 April 2017 . Canberra Times. March 12, 2018.
6. News: Tasmanian mountain bike course praised after hosting national championships. Sallese. Gibson. April 11, 2016. ABC News.
7. Web site: What happens when a rural town becomes the mountain bike capital of Australia?. Felicity. Ogilvie. December 26, 2017. ABC News.
8. News: Mountain bikers flock to Tasmania's 'super sick' Blue Derby trail. Aneeta. Bhole. April 8, 2017. ABC News.
9. Web site: Enduro World Series 2017 Event Calendar . www.enduroworldseries.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170217033739/http://www.enduroworldseries.com/2017-event-calendar . 2017-02-17.
10. Web site: Mountain Biking in Hollybank and Derby Tasmania - Mountain Biking Australia magazine. www.mtbiking.com.au.
11. Web site: Bike riding. Wellington Park, Hobart Tasmania.
12. Web site: Parks & Wildlife Service - Tracks and Trails . www.parks.tas.gov.au . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160318130028/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/Index.aspx?base=36516 . 2016-03-18.
13. Web site: Mt Buller.
14. Web site: Current Ride Centers | International Mountain Bicycling Association . 2013-07-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121214094008/http://www.imba.com/ride-centers/current . 2012-12-14 .
15. Web site: Parks Victoria - Bowden Spur Mountain Bike Area . parkweb.vic.gov.au . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130116050821/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/kinglake-national-park/things-to-do/bowden-spur-mountain-bike-area . 2013-01-16.
16. Web site: Lysterfield MTB / Lysterfield District Trail Riders. Lysterfield MTB / Lysterfield District Trail Riders.
17. Web site: You Yangs Mountain Bike Inc. Trail Maps. 12 April 2024.
18. Web site: Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort. 12 April 2024.
19. Web site: Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort. 12 April 2024.
20. Web site: Mt Buller – Mountain Biking. 12 April 2024.
21. Web site: Mountain Biking - Official Home of Falls Creek Alpine Resort. 12 April 2024.
22. Web site: Ride High Country | Mountain Bike | Rail Trails | Road Rides | Cycle Holiday.
23. Web site: Map of Mount Beauty mountain bike tracks on Mt Beauty. kiewaview.com. 11 April 2024.
24. Web site: Mount Hotham – Cycling. 12 April 2024.
25. Web site: Mountain Biking. Lake Mountain Alpine Resort. 12 April 2024.
26. Web site: Homepage. Ride Forrest. 12 April 2024.
27. http://www.beechworthchaingang.com/index.php/trails/38-trails/64-the-beechworth-mountain-bike-park The Beechworth Mountain Bike Park
28. http://www.rideguideblog.co/2012/10/23/woodend-mountain-biking-melbournes-singletrack-alternative/ Woodend mountain biking Melbourne's singtrack alternative
29. Web site: DELWP. 10 November 2020.
30. Web site: Downhill Mountain Bike Trail opens in Kinglake Outer Edge Magazine . www.outeredgemag.com.au . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120618103650/http://www.outeredgemag.com.au/news/article/downhill-mountain-bike-trail-opens-in-kinglake . 2012-06-18.
31. Web site: Bancoora | Victorian Mountain Bike Rides | Erica MTB Park. 12 April 2024.
32. Web site: Where to Ride - Maps. 12 April 2024.
33. Web site: 2013 Marathon Challenge - Mountain Bike Event Avoca, Victoria, Australia 2013. 12 April 2024.
34. Web site: Mountain Bike Orienteering | Orienteering Victoria. www.vicorienteering.asn.au. 12 April 2024.
35. Web site: Granite Grind 24 Feb 2013 - Murrindindi Cycle Club . sites.google.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130407123251/https://sites.google.com/site/murrindindicycleclub/granite-grind . 2013-04-07.
36. Web site: Welcome to Rapid Ascent.

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