Rider briefing: Shimano MTB GP Glenrock 2019

The third Shimano MTB GP of the 2019 Series will take us to Glenrock State Conservation Reserve and we have great privilege to have secured this venue, which is part of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. – What a magical place, smell the ocean breeze as you race!

If you have already signed up, it’s awesome to have you on board! Here are some bits and pieces of information to get you ready for and into the mood for racing with Rocky Trail Entertainment!

If you’re still on the fence, online registration is usually open until the Friday, the day before race day. Should we be getting close to selling out, we will communicate it via our website and our social media platforms.


Register now


Event venue: Glenrock

Glenrock… one of THE most popular mountain bike trail networks in Newcastle! It’s a favourite for the locals with its sweeping ocean views for after-work and weekend escapes and definitely worth the drive for visiting riders. We’d like you to know that we’re working very closely and diligently together with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and that part of our venue fees are going into trail maintenance and upkeep of the facility, we’re told. In summary, it’s VERY special to be racing there and certainly a treat not just for our racers but also for us as organisers.

The event centre will be at the Glenrock trailhead on Gun Club Road off Fernleigh Loop in Newcastle. Unfortunately camping won’t be available at the this track.

Address: Gun Club Road, Glenrock NSW


Race track

Find the race track map on our event website and this is the direct Google Maps link. This year’s race track is about 7.5 km long as we took out a fire trail descent, which we used in previous years, as it is very rutted and gnarly at the moment. The race track moves in and out of beautiful single trail sections and offers more overtaking options on the fire trail sections in between. With input from local riders like Jonathan Poole and Grahame Sonter we reckon you’ll like it!

Note: The blue one is the race track. The yellow one is our wet weather track in case of last minute excessive showers.


Event schedule

Friday
All day The track is marked and you can practice on it but we won’t have any services (marshalls, first aid) in place

Saturday
At 8am on Saturday moring we will be holding the GP7 Hour GC ceremony from the last event at Wingello. The race was stopped early, because of a severe medical incident. One of our racers tragically passed away on course and we will remember him dearly – Kevin Simpson from Bowral would have stood on the GC podium with his mates that day. Join us in celebrating the memory of a kind man and an active mountain biker and trail builder.

We will hand out winner’s races plates to all the podium getters (1-2-3) of GC results from the Wingello race; you can race those plates at Glenrock – please come and see our event timing staff and we will assign the number(s) to your name(s)! Let’s ride full of joy at Glenrock and remember that life is good on two wheels among like-minded riders!

7:00-8:00 am Registration open to pick up your number plate.
8:00am Wingello 7HR GC Podium ceremony in memory of Kevin Simpson
8:45am Rider briefing, be race ready.
9:00am Race start – FAST GP + FURIOUS GP
approx. 11:00am Kids race
1:00pm Race finish – FAST GP
2:00pm Ceremony – FAST GP
4:00pm Race finish – FURIOUS GP
5:00pm Ceremony – FURIOUS GP


Race rules & results

It’s going to be a social affair!
Juliane and Martin Wisata are the founders of Rocky Trail and created the GP events around their favourite trails and are constantly scouting new venues. They say, ” We love that we get to discover new venues and re-discover the classics every year.” From one race in 2009, the events have evolved over the years and albeit all being stand-alone races they all are part of the over-arching annual series. Riders competing in two or more events get to accumulate series points and get trophies and bragging rights for collecting most points (the best 4 out of the 5 race results count).

There are 4 and 7 hour competitions within each race and there are quite a few categories to choose from – solo and pairs across both options as well as a team of 3 category in the seven-hour. Everyone gets results in a General Classification as well as in Age Divisions.

e-Bike friendly event!

Are you riding an e-Bike? You’re most welcome to compete at Rocky Trail events! Tick the e-Bike BOX when you register online to go into the special classification! Click here for the category information.


Race photos included!

Your entry fee includes all race photos by OuterImage! Click here for the photo portal.


Atmosphere and racing spirit

It has been very important to us to keep this series a set of very social races. We are attracting some of the big names in the XC racing world – often the local guns come out for a play or come along for the series to keep training throughout the year, or, as we’ve been told quite often, “we come because it’s fun and you guys put on a good show”. That’s flattering to hear, however, you must know that with our crew and suppliers, we strive to organise professional events that are safe, fair, value for money, that take you to exciting venues and those where we mountain bikers are welcome.

We want to deliver a series that is less of an elite- and winners-only-focused competition, but a positive and inclusive experience for all participants. The majority of our racers are amateur riders and we love riding and racing ourselves, so we do like to put on some good tunes and most of the time our “honorary Entertainment Manager”, DJ Nigel from Pedal4Pierce, our charity of choice, will spin not only his wheels but also the decks to crank out some tunes that will push you out onto each lap and keep you entertained as you are having a rest in the event centre.

Rocky Trail Bazaar
All prizes are handing out via the Rocky Trail Bazzar when you pick up your number plate in the morning – you pick a ticket and can then select your prize from the bazaar. Some tickets go into the draw for major prizes.

Fun for kids
There will be a fun and free kids race around 11am and did you know about the Rocky Trail Cruzee Kids Bike Fleet?


Newcastle & Surrounds

Race Saturday, explore Sunday!
If you’re visiting from Sydney, from the Central Coast or from further interstate or from Canberra, there’s a lot to see and do before and after you race! We’ve put together some information, chatting to the local riders we know to give you some ideas on our BLOG!


Event facilities

Food & Drinks
You can bring your own supplies and we’ll have our caterer on-site who will look after you all day with hot and cold drinks of course and they always have something up their sleeves when it comes to the food and snacks. Choose from yoghurt and muesli and fresh fruit as well as pasta dishes, your classic sandwhiches and snacks to tasty shakes and sweet treats.

Water
Please bring your own water and hydration.

Tech Support Service
We will have the crew from FIZO Cycling on-site to assist you with mechanicals – they have some cool offers when it comes to bike service and set-up, have a chat to Jason “Moxy” Moxham and he can sort you out.

Camping
Is not allowed at the event centre, please refer to our #rockytraildestination blog for other accommodation options or visit the Visitor Information sites for Newcastle or the Lake Macquarie regions.


Series information

After Glenrock, the series will head for one of the newest series venues in Nowra State Forest at the end of July. The relatively flat Coondoo course, it was one of the most-talked about in 2018 with trails that dictated an incredibly fast pace for an exciting finish in every category. The August race will be held at the Central Coast’s Ourimbah State Forest and in a first since the inception of the series a Championship event will conclude the series at Awaba MTB Park in October.