Event alert & race line-up: 30 November 2022
Event: Jetblack 24 Hour, AusCycling 24 Hour Solo National Championships
Venue: The Seven Valleys Region, Lidsdale State Forest, Rydal in Lithgow NSW
24H Solo battle for AusCycling green and gold stripes at Jetblack 24 Hour and the ultimate MTB racing weekend away for teams!
The Jetblack 24 Hour mountain bike race will return to the Seven Valleys region this weekend of 3+4 December 2022. Ultra-endurance mountain bike athletes from all across NSW, the ACT as well as QLD, VIC and TAS have already signed up to line up at Rydal Showground in Lithgow 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 hub in the heart of the Seven Valleys region 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.
RACE LINE-UP
“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 and will be at the start line in Rydal.
With many regular Rocky Trail racers, Sydney’s all-rounder Jon Odams is throwing his hat in the game as well and said that he it had been “a long time between doing a 24 hour shift on the bike”. Owen Gordon from the Blue Mountains will be one to watch after a strong performance in 2021 came to an end early due to stomach problems. Strong racing is expected also from Wayne Thompson from Morningside (QLD) and Infinit team rider Alwynn Miller (Far North Coast NSW), who was the Jetblack 24 Hour solo men’s runner up in 2020.
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.
As such, the female competition promises to be an exciting race, with a high-profile field at the start: racing for the green and gold stripes is Kaydee Raths from Tasmania. Originally from the US, the endurance racer is travelling from her home in Tasmania as the former Jetblack 24 Hour solo female winner from 2020.
At the start also the 42-year old World 24H Solo runner up from 2018 from Victoria, Kate Kellett (as well as husband Brett, a multi MTB and Cyclocross Masters National Champion). Another household name is the ultra-endurance cyclist Purdie Long, the 2019 Australian 24H Solo National Champ. One to watch also will be Queensland’s Rebecca Stone.
ABOUT 24 HOUR RACING
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 added.
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, spectator entry is free.
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