Martin Wisata crossed the finish line of a record-breaking sixth Crocodile Trophy in Port Douglas. “With around 100-120 people competing in this race every year since 1994, it’s quite an exclusive group of people that can call themselves ‘Crocodile Trophy finisher’ world-wide”, he said.
“I can’t really explain what motivates me to do this event every year – a big reason certainly is the cameraderie among riders and the crew. Every year you meet so many new like-minded riders and it’s just fun to hang out, talking about riding and bikes all evening. Many of the crew return every year also and have become dear friends”, he explained.
Another big reason was the fascination with Tropical North Queensland and the Outback, “This event has everything you could think of when it comes to mountain biking. Every day the terrain changes – you start in the rain forest, you head into the bush and those awesome mountain bike parks they have up in Cairns and Atherton, then you head out into the Outback, where it’s hot and dusty and sandy all day. Back towards the coast you pass tropical orchards with banana and mango trees and then that final day down into Port Douglas is just breaktaking”, he says of the race and adds that it has been quite the evolution since he first raced it in 2010.
“There are still those typical Outback roads and highways that you ride on, but they don’t dominate the race anymore. You need to be a complete mountain biker to do well at this race – for me this means to finish every day well, support my team and do it for nine days in a row. I do watch my position in the category and it motivates me, but at the end of the nine days what counts is that I cross the line with hopefully a personal best.”
What about 2016?
“I’ll be back at the Croc for sure”, he grins.
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