Mountain biking in 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]

Mountain Biking Australia Ltd.
SportMountain Biking
CategoryLifestyle activity
JurisdictionAustralia
AbbreviationMTBA
HeadquartersVarsity Lakes, Queensland
CEOShane Coppin
Official website
www.mtba.org.au
The start of the men's under 23 cross-country event at the 2009 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships in Canberra.

Facilities

Australian Capital Territory
Mt Stromlo's downhill track, during the 2009 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships.

Mt 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 in 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 Enduro World Series 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 Mt 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 Mt 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:

LocationXC trails (number)XC trails (km)Downhill trailsLift services
Lysterfield Park[16]14212-
You Yangs[17]1537.62-
Mt Baw Baw10[18]101[19]Shuttle (specific dates)
Mt Buller[20]1650+71 lift, 1 shuttle (seasonal)
Falls Creek[21]467.4(under construction)1 (specific dates)
Big Hill (Mt Beauty)[22]14[23]40-502-
Mount Hotham[24]??--
Lake Mountain[25]815--
Forrest[26]1650+--
Beechworth[27]919.21 DH, 1 jumps-
Wombat State Forest[28]123--
Nowa Nowa[29]727.4--
Kinglake[30]--1[30] (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]
  • Bancoora website extensive list of locations with photos and videos of a lot of Victorian trails.
  • Trailmate list of locations.
  • 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
Downhill mountain biker Jared Rando.

Successful Australian mountain bikers include:

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References
  1. http://www.mtba.asn.au/about
  2. http://www.stromloforestpark.com.au/mtb/
  3. http://sparrowhill.info
  4. "The Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group". Northern Beaches MTB.
  5. "Thredbo boasts Australia's longest downhill mountain bike trail". Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  6. Gibson, Sallese (11 April 2016). "Tasmanian mountain bike course praised after hosting national championships". ABC News.
  7. Ogilvie, Felicity (26 December 2017). "What happens when a rural town becomes the mountain bike capital of Australia?". ABC News.
  8. Bhole, Aneeta (8 April 2017). "Mountain bikers flock to Tasmania's 'super sick' Blue Derby trail". ABC News.
  9. http://www.enduroworldseries.com/2017-event-calendar/
  10. "Mountain Biking in Hollybank and Derby Tasmania - Mountain Biking Australia magazine". www.mtbiking.com.au.
  11. "Bike riding". Wellington Park, Hobart Tasmania.
  12. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=36516
  13. http://www.mtbuller.com.au/Detail/Summer/Mountain2/Latest-News2/322
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/kinglake-national-park/things-to-do/bowden-spur-mountain-bike-area
  16. "Lysterfield MTB / Lysterfield District Trail Riders". Lysterfield MTB / Lysterfield District Trail Riders.
  17. You Yangs Mountain Bike Inc. Trail Maps
  18. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort
  19. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort
  20. Mt Buller - Mountain Biking
  21. "Mountain Biking - Official Home of Falls Creek Alpine Resort".
  22. http://www.thedirtydozen.com.au/Pages/The_Dirty_Dozen/Mt_Beauty/The_Trails/Big_Hill_Mountain_Bike_Park.aspx
  23. http://www.kiewaview.com/graphics/MB%20MTB%20Trails.pdf?attredirects=0
  24. Mount Hotham - Cycling
  25. Mountain Biking | Lake Mountain Alpine Resort
  26. Forrest Mountain Bike Trails - Official Site
  27. The Beechworth Mountain Bike Park
  28. http://www.rideguideblog.co/2012/10/23/woodend-mountain-biking-melbournes-singletrack-alternative/
  29. http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/102054/FS0115_NowaNowaMTBpark.pdf
  30. http://www.outeredgemag.com.au/news/article/downhill-mountain-bike-trail-opens-in-kinglake
  31. http://www.bancoora.com/Erica%20Rides/Erica%20MTB%20Park%20Trail%20Information.html
  32. http://www.gippslandmtb.com.au/index.php/where-to-ride
  33. 2013 Marathon Challenge - Mountain Bike Event Avoca, Victoria, Australia 2013
  34. http://www.vicorienteering.asn.au/mtbo/
  35. https://sites.google.com/site/murrindindicycleclub/granite-grind
  36. http://www.rapidascent.com.au/bikebuller/
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