Race Guide

We want our events to spark and feed your love for bike racing, challenging yourself and your fellow #rockytrailracers whatever mountain bike you’re on. We deliver cycling events where podium chasers can line up with Australia’s elites and experienced endurance racers and were casual racers have a blast, all feeling safe and part of our community.

From the first time between the tape to people who have spent a lifetime training for power output, we will have you covered. We want to motivate our racers to be active and have fun outdoors and we want to support each and everyone of them to achieve their racing goals whatever their riding preferences are. Plus, we want those events to be entertaining, so you can bring your families, kids, friends and supporters along too. We make sure to create racing environments on lots of different trails where you can go as hard as you want, to take on a proper challenge and achieve your personal goals via state of the art timing equipment – LIVE on your phones as soon as you cross the line!

Our racers are as young as eight years old in the Superflow enduro gravity events and we have age classifications up to 60+ in solo and team categories in all cross-country events, marathons and multi-day races. We are keen supporters of eBikes across all our races and run women’s only events with our Diamonds in the Dirt, which include trail running options too!

Now is the time to find your perfect match and Be a #rockytrailracer!

With us you can ‘race the way you ride’ – this goes all the way back to when we started riding and then caught the racing bug ourselves. Hang out with mates and meet new ones, ride together, race against each other absolutely smashing them out on track.


The Classic MTB lap Race

Shimano Grand Prix (lap-based, 4 hour limit)

THREE EVENTS IN ONE! Are you up for the challenge, in for an adventure or will you be our endurance hero? Three distance classifications for you to Race the way you Ride with the Shimano Grand Prix!
MAKE EVERY LAP COUNT ACROSS NSW, ACT, VIC & QLD! The Shimano Grand Prix events are classic lap-based mountain bike races with 3 race distance classifications, Hero (long), Adventure (medium) and Challenge (short).
Courses will be designed to be between 7km and 10km long with ample overtaking opportunities distributed around the whole lap. The classifications will be approximately 75km, 50 kms and 25kms. The exact number of laps will be announced during in the rider’s brief. The exact distance may vary based on the lap distance at any specific venue.
The races have Age Group Categories for solos and pairs teams in all the distance challenges. There will also be four specialty Awards including KOM/QOM, Fastest Laptimes for adults and junior as well as an GC Title for the Male and Female Heroes. The races also offer eBike categories in the Adventure distance.
Link: Shimano MTB Grand Prix Event Portal
Regions: NSW || ACT || QLD || VIC


The Gravity Shred Full of Gnar

Fox Superflow, sealed by Stan’s

This is Australia’s most popular and fastest-growing enduro-style gravity series. It is our unique take on the global enduro movement: this is for skilled riders of all ages and different XC or gravity backgrounds. Within a set timing window you complete a set of timed race stages, which are predominantly downhill – the faster you go, the more challenging it gets! You ride to the starts un-timed and there are no start orders, which means you can spend all day together with mates, your partner or the junior frothers!
The best bike for this type of racing is an all-mountain or enduro bike, dual suspension with at least 5” travel in the rear. You should be reasonably fit, because the neutral uphill rides to the starts do add up those vertical meters and demand endurance. Your skill-set should be experienced and comfortable on rocky and challenging trail sections.
Practice on the race stages on the Saturday is included in the entries and you pick the order in which you complete the 3 stages. But what our racers love the most is that they have up to FIVE race runs on each of the stages and the fastest run counts, so you can keep trying to put in a faster time multiple times! Results come through LIVE on our online portal as soon as you cross the line, check it out on your phone and go again! But most of all: when you start your race stages get ready for an absolute adrenaline rush as you smash down our Superflow® race tracks to hunt down those seconds for the win!
Click on the link below to find out more about the new additional Superflow® PRO STAGES!
Links: Fox Superflow Event Portal | New: Superflow® PRO STAGES
Regions: NSW || ACT || QLD || VIC


The Must-Do Tradition

Jetblack 24 Hour (6+6 Hour)

24-hour MTB racing is the ultimate test of endurance. Australia is the home of some of the most successful 24-hour Solo Mountain Bike Champions and at our Jetblack 24 Hour you will compete alongside them. Sleep is overrated – we start racing on Saturday at midday and finish on Sunday at 12pm! And yet, this is an extremely social event with an awesome atmosphere – a DJ pumping out some choonz, great food and steaming hot coffee at all ours of the day and night! Set up camp, compete with your mates in a team and decide as a team how many laps each person rides. The course is about 10km long – do 1 or a whole bunch in pairs, threes, fours or teams of six.
24 hours sound a bit too big or you’re looking to introduce someone new to the sport we have a 6+6hr event that could suit you! Awesome vibe to race for 6hrs on Saturday, then get to rest overnight from 6pm. Re-start at 6am as the sun rises.
You can even bring the whole family! Lots to do for them in the region while you race. We’ll put on a free kids time trial to tire out the little shredders for you.
Set up on the lush meadows of the showgrounds at Rydal – camp and team base right next to your car! Experience a weekend filled with camaraderie and fun racing on the awesome cross-country Lidsdale MTB trails that you’ll never forget!
Link: Jetblack 24 Hour Race and 6+6 Hour (NSW)


The Classic Marathon Challenges

Our two marathon events are distance challenges, both run on giant racing circuits.

AMB100 Marathon

You can take on the AMB100, a singletrack lap-based marathon at Stromlo Forest Park. Stromlo is a truly iconic mountain bike venue in Canberra! We set up a 20-25km track and you can do one cheeky lap, two to catch the marathon racing bug or three for a classic marathon distance of close to 80km… early start and sunrise lap for 5 laps anyone?

The Willo Marathon

The second marathon is very close to our hearts. The Willo Marathon is a one day event celebrating the life of mountain bike champion James Williamson, who died in March 2010 at the age of 26. James was a top-level XCO and XCM rider. He was passionate about the sport in every way, as well as being an Australian and World 24 hour champion. We have been the race custodians since the event’s 10th Anniversary. Between 20-25km the challenges include one, two or three laps of the course, with a separate junior course and fun kids activities. The Willo is a race unlike any other. It is one of the top mountain bike marathons on the Australian cycling racing calendars and an annual reminder to all riders of the joys of mountain biking as well as the impact James had on the sport.
Links: AMB100 Marathon (ACT) || The Willo Marathon (NSW)


The Multi-Day Event

Buller Alpenflow Epic Multi-Day MTB Lifestyle Event

Australia’s new MTB & Alpine Lifestyle event for nature and outdoor experience lovers – everything you love about ‘rocky trails’ in the one spot!
What awaits you: cross-country and enduro-style MTB action with loads of send, massive gnar, spectacular climbs, fast and flowy descents. There will be racing action for juniors and the “big kids” and all kinds of bikes – with and without those “e’s”.
This event will challenge the competitors and entertain its visitors. Rocky Trail will stage all these activities in the majestic Alpine surrounds of Mt Buller and Mt Stirling and deliver amazing adventures and experiences. Lots of things to do for the fambam while you race and even more memories waiting to be made together when you’re back (with those sore legs!).

Line-up:

  • Friday: Rocky Trail Academy Schools Event
  • Sat-Sun: Fox Superflow® 2-days Gravity Enduro Stage Race
  • Mon: Alpenflow Epic Ride

Link: Alpenflow Epic (VIC)


The Rocky Trail Academy

The Rocky Trail Academy is all about fostering the grass-roots development of the cycling sport. These events are part of our junior rider development program.

Schools Competitions

Geared towards secondary school students these events are held on a Friday and not only engage youth in healthy social and active recreation but brings a heightened appreciation of nature, the environment, self-reliance , self-learning and independence, all as part of riding a bike in the outdoors. By extension, this program also engages and educates teachers and parents.

It is all about encouraging students of all abilities to come and race with their mates in a safe and social environment. They will have an exciting racing experience and enjoy a fun event atmosphere together – great memories to share! Students will have the opportunity to test their riding ability across three skill areas on some of the most popular mountain bike trails across QLD, NSW, ACT and in VIC – Endurance, Speed and Technical Skills.

The Willo Junior Race

For many young athletes and skills clinics participants The Willo Marathon will continue to provide the opportunity to experience their first thrill of racing every year. The Willo Junior race offers a stand-alone race on a short-circuit, before the mass start of the “big marathon”. It provides the perfect preparation and motivation to get into racing.

Links: Rocky Trail Academy || Shimano GP Racing || Willo Marathon


The Events with e-Categories

All our events offer eBike categories! We are big advocates of eBikes and are offering categories in all events – cross-country, marathon and Superflow® races!
Pick any event and take on the challenge on your powered steed!
Link: Full Calendar of Events >

See you out there on our rocky trails! – Juliane

Be a #rockytrailracer!

We can’t wait for you to line-up at a race start with us and see you out there on our rocky trails!

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