The Jetblack 24 Hour mountain bike race will return to Lithgow on the weekend of 3+4 December 2022. Ultra-endurance mountain bike athletes from all over the country will line up at Rydal Showground to compete on the trail network in Lidsdale State Forest. The event will host the official AusCycling 24 Hour Solo National Championships for individual competitors. Further classifications will offer relay racing for teams in the 24 Hour event as well as a 6+6 Hour option for solo racers and teams with a rest at night.
Rocky Trail Entertainment will deliver the 14th edition of their Jetblack 24 Hour event and promise that the 2022 race course will be specifically designed to optimise the 24hr solo racing, allowing our riders to focus on the racing and endurance challenge.
“The relaunch of the AusCycling 24hr Solo National Championships will run in conjunction with our very popular JetBlack 24 Hour event and this year, 24 Solo racing is offered under the National Championships banner only”, says Rocky Trail’s National Operations Manager and Race Director for the event, Bob Morris. “We understand the challenge and commitment required for 24hr solo racing so this year we offer additional ticketed event services including marquee services and concierge support”, he added.
AusCycling’s Executive General Manager Sport, Kipp Kaufmann, said “It’s incredible to have the 24 Hour National Championships back after the enforced COVID pause for the event over the past couple of years. We are excited to be partnering with Rocky Trail Entertainment to host the Championships at the iconic Jetblack 24 Hour.”
The Jetblack 24 Hour has its home at Rydal Showgrounds and has been held on the home trails of the Central Tablelands MTB Club in Lidsdale State Forest since 2018. The event provides a spacious racing hub of 6.5 hectares providing a comfortable base for rider transition/camping and parking in close proximity to all the action.
About 24 Hour racing
“24-hour mountain bike racing has been deeply rooted in the Australian MTB racing culture and is the ultimate test of endurance not only for the athletes, but also for supporters and our crew”, says Juliane Wisata, one of the Rocky Trail owners. Founded in 2009, the Jetblack 24 Hour has a long history of national and international ultra-endurance athletes compete with Rocky Trail. Notably, the multiple 24-Hour Solo World Champion Jason English from Newcastle has won the event 10 times. The reigning male and female Jetblack 24 Hour Champions are Benjamin Jacka from Newcastle and Canberra’s Gwynn McLeod, who spectacularly finished as the third solo finisher outright last year.
Wisata explains that out of the 45 events hosted by Rocky Trail annually it was the Jetblack 24 Hour that attracted the most first-time competitors each year. “Australia is the home of some of the most successful 24-hour Solo Mountain Bike Champions and at the Jetblack 24 Hour one can compete alongside them. Most of all, it is a weekend out on the trails, riding and racing with mates – a celebration of MTB racing, really”, she adds.
With the solos fighting for the green and gold stripes, the 24 hour competition also includes team relay classifications. The event also offers a 6+6 hour race for solos and teams. Competitors start with the crowd and race for 6hrs on Saturday, then get to rest overnight from 6pm. The re-start at 6am as the sun rises was always a special moment for racers and crew, says Juliane, as the resident Rocky Trail DJ always puts on the by now infamous wake-up call with Austro-Australian sounds to ring in the final racing hours. “We are called Rocky Trail ENTERTAINMENT for a reason”, she hints.
Online registration is open for competitors now, spectator entry is free.
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