Hiya Rocky Trail racers,
It’s JetBlack 24 Hour racing week! This weekend more than 400 mountain bikers and their families, friends and supporters as well as our sponsors and entire crew will flock to The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan for the huge Rocky Trail racing finale that is the JetBlack 24 Hour! This is the official rider briefing, which will be updated regularly in the event lead-up.
>> Rider list
>> Results portal
This will go live once the race has started. Several screens will be placed near the transition zone to display results (finisher screen, various progress results screens).
Planning your trip:
The JetBlack 24 Hour and Australian 24H Solo National Championships event centre is located near the trail head of the MTB track at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan. Check out the LOCATION section on our event website, which has all the details of how to get there.
It is also important that you familiarise yourself with the access points and times into the botanic garden. In summary:
- 10am – 5 pm Enter and Exit through Main Gate on Narellan Road
- Alternative gate is located on Mt Annan Drive (coming from the highway about 100m further on Narellan Road, then turn left onto Mt Annan Drive, then left again at the roundabout – you see the gate ahead). – see official Event Schedule for access times.
SCHEDULE:
Important: please know the access locations and times – please check our EVENT SCHEDULE for all details. Here is a summary:
Friday:
- 2-8 pm Car access to campground
- 2-5 pm enter via main gates on Narellan Road
- 5-8 pm enter via “old” gates on Mt Annan Drive
- 4-8 pm Registration open
Saturday:
- 7-10am Enter through gates on Mt Annan Drive
- 7 am Registration opens
- 7-10am Access to solo area by car to drop off gear (please talk to our crew/parking marshalls)
- 10 am Enter through main gates on Narellan Drive
- 11:30 am Rider Briefing
- 12:00 pm Race Start 24H Solo
- 12:05 pm Race Start 24H Teams and 6+6H mass race start
- 5 pm Main gates close; enter/exit on Mt Annan Drive
- 6pm Race pause for 6+6 racers
- 8pm All garden gates close for the night.
Sunday:
- 5-6:30 am Gates open at Mt Annan Drive for 6+6H racers
- 5:45 am 6+6H racers, be race-ready at transition zone
- From 6 am 6+6H race re-start
- 10 am Main gate opens on Narellan Road
- 12 pm Race track closes
- 12:30 pm Est. last rider across the line
- 1:30 pm Est. ceremony
Every racer will get a pair of unique JetBlack 24 Hour socks, thanks to our sponsor Macarthur Design & Drafting.
RACING
Timing:
We will be using our brand-new timing system – you will be issued with number plates that have magnetic timing strips on the back. Your race times and results will be displayed live in the event centre and pushed online as well.
Double number plates for solos:
All 24H and 6+6H solo riders will automatically be issued with two number plates, as a lot of them usually bring two steeds. If you are a team rider who needs a second number plate also, please talk to Juliane and her crew at the registration tent on the day before the race starts.
Start procedure:
All event participants need to be present at the rider briefing on Saturday at 11:30am.
At 12pm the 24H Solo racers will start, five minutes later there will be a mass race start for all 24H team and all 6+6H racers. We will explain team transitions during the rider briefing on race day.
6+6H procedures:
These guys get a break over night. You are allowed to start a last lap until 5:59.59 pm on Saturday, those laps will still count. We will then publish a re-start list – it will be put up in the event centre and published on the NEWS section of the event website.
Basically:
- If you finish at or before 6pm, you/one member of your team will start at 6am on Sunday.
- If you finish after 6pm, you will start with the relevant minute-delay on the Sunday, e.g. if you finish at 6:12pm, you will start at 6:12am.
- We will have our Race Director and crew ready to call you up to the start line and to count you down for your race start.
- Teams can nominate any team rider to start the second day for them.
Lights:
- Lights have to be on all 24-hour riders’ bikes by 6pm the latest. Only front lights are required.
- 6+6 Hour racers won’t require lights as they will have enough day light.
Recharging:
- We will have a light re-charging station set up from about mid afternoon. We do kindly ask that you bring yours with full batteries, please. We have a couple of power boards and if you have a spare one, bring it along, but we should have good capacity.
Finish procedure:
You are allowed to start a last lap until 11:59.59 am on Sunday, those laps will still count.
RACE TRACK:
The Mt Annan crew have just put in an extension, which will be opened for the JetBlack 24 Hour race – it’s about 11km long. We’ll be marking it on Wednesday and you’ll be able to ride it until 11am on Saturday morning for practice laps. We will give you all the details and what to watch out for during the rider briefing on Saturday at 11:30am. There will be double and triple-arrows to alert you about obstacles coming up and we will also put some B-lines into place to give you the option to go around some tricky sections.
All in all – you’re in for a treat!
RACE REGULATIONS:
Please be aware of the race rules, they are published on our website.
The solo rider/the team with most laps in the least amount of time wins. Master categories are offered if a minimum of three rides/teams have signed up. Age determination date is December 31, which means the age you are at the end of the year determines the age group you are racing in.
24-hour Solo rules:
The race will be conducted as per the MTBA Technical Regulations with the below amendments:
4.1. During the race a chicane will be put into the start/finish straight to slow all riders down and force them into single file so we can record the race number and laptimes. This lane will be opened again for the end of the race.
4.1.1.1. We are likely to have an inflatatable arch at the start and during most of the race. There will be a B-line around that structure should we have a power failure during the race.
4.1.1.7. The start/finish area will be clearly marked but unlikely to have hard fencing all the way.
All results will be displayed in your various age groups as well as the overall male/female results.
There will be an additional podium for the 3 fastest male and female Single Speed riders. You need to race the entire race exclusively on Single Speed bikes and tick the Single Speed box when registering.
Age determination date is December 31, which means the age you are at the end of the year determines the age group you are racing in.
You can not choose to ride in a different age group.
Prize money will be paid to the top 5 overall winners in both male and female categories.
Prize money totalling A$ 4400 will be paid to the overall fastest 5 male and female riders as follows:
Men: Women:
A$ 1500 A$ 1500
A$ 350 A$ 350
A$ 150 A$ 150
A$ 100 A$ 100
A$ 100 A$ 100
An official MTBA Commissaire’s Panel has bee appointed:
- Darryl Cram, Chief Commissaire
- Joanne Fox, Assistant Commissaire
- Tony Pearce, Assistant Commissaire
- Tim Rowe, Assistant Commisssaire
- Mark Welsh, Assistant Commissaire
EVENT CENTRE
This is the event centre and campground map. Within the main event centre we will set up a dedicated 24H and 6+6H Solo pit area – there are plenty of spots and we will lay out the race track so that as many tents as possible are directly next to it.
Solo riders:
- We will mark out the solo pit area and it will be quite clear how the tents should line up. If you’re unsure, have a chat to our crew to assign you a spot when you arrive.
- We will have quite a few “public solo tents” for interstate/international riders and those that have contacted us ahead (some have quite the drive ahead of them). — If you haven’t already, please do send us an email before Thursday, so that we’re aware – we’ll send you a reply.
- There will be a lot of people in the event centre on Saturday morning for registration – we will try our best to accommodate solo riders for them to drop off gear in the solo pit area. Please be patient with our crew and work with them so that this process can be handled smoothly. We’re here to help and just need to be aware of people walking around etc. – In recent years we haven’t had any issues.
- If you do need car access to the solo pit area, can you please drive in and leave by 9am, so that we have all cars out of the solo pit area by 9:30 the latest. Transition zone, start/finish straight etc. will have to be built / organised around it then. Thanks for your cooperation!
Team riders: spots can be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can also camp directly next to your car – the event centre is set up that the furthest away from the transition zone is less than 200m or so.
Music: you will have noticed on the map that we have a recommended “chill out camping zone”, which is further away from our speakers, if you wish to have a quieter spot. Part of the Rocky Trail experience is that we have a pumping event centre with a wide variety of funky tunes – we find it motivates our riders and also our crew. We will have a “warm-up” session by our DJ on Friday evening (until 9-10pm) and will start the music on Saturday from 7am. During the racing night it will be turned right down (from ~11pm), so that the camp is quiet and the guys still racing can hear it as they come through the transition area. In the wee hours of the morning, when it gets lonely out on track they look forward to hearing a bit of music and a little chat with the crew.
Announcements and music will recommence on Sunday morning by 5:30am for the re-start of the 6+6H riders.
Camping and Parking:
Camping is free and to help The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan with ongoing trail maintenance, we are asking for a $10 fee per car if you stay overnight in the camp ground. We will issue Car Vouchers. Some have already paid for those online, which will be handed out at registration; you can buy them on-site. We ask that you display the vouchers on the dashboard throughout the event weekend.
Note: you will be able to move your car during the event – we might block the access road for the race start, but otherwise it will be open. For all 6+6H racers who want to leave overnight, may we recommend that you pick a parking spot that will allow you to do so easily. We will have some parking marshalls in the morning that can help with that. – Probably further away from the main event centre (on the high-way side of the camping area) is a good idea.
For day visitors, families/friends – there are car parks near the Big Idea Garden, just at the entry to the event centre, before you cross the creek. – It’s only a 100m walk to the transition zone where all the action is; maybe a good idea to just leave the car there for them.
Toilets:
Mobile toilets located at the entry to the event centre as we are not allowed to cross the water channel with the toilets (it’s part of Sydney’s main water supply). There are more toilets across the road in the Big Idea Garden and more about 50m down the road (you will see a big shelter from the distance already).
Food + Water:
There a tabs in the event centre and you can re-fill your water bottles. Every racer will receive a complementary Rocky Trail bottle at registration.
We will have our caterers Mona and Anthony from “The Daily Espresso” on-site all weekend and they will serve yummy food from Friday evening onwards. They will have a BBQ on the Friday evening and offer breakfast on Saturday and Sunday with various egg & bacon rolls etc. as well as pasta and yummy wraps and sandwiches and sweet treats all weekend. And their coffee is awesome too!
Weather forecast:
Is looking really good! Wooot! The temperature forecast is set in the high 20’s during the day and it could get cool during the night. To be safe, do bring some warm clothes to stay comfy.
Please be aware of our event wet weather policy, which is on our LOCATION page and you would hopefully also have seen it on the REGISTRATION page, when you signed up.
As it stands, we are certain that the race is going ahead this weekend on the full race track including the extended sections.
However, please also know that we have been working closely together with the Mt Annan team and that we have a B-track in case it rains heavily, which will keep you riding and helps preserve the pristine trails. This B-track allows us to open and close sections of the main race track if necessary. It is a rough firetrail looping around the race track and we might direct you in and out of the singletracks if need be. We will alert you with plenty of notice, should this happen during the race.
Kids Fun:
We have booked a Face Painting Fairy for 2-4pm on Saturday and have pencils, colouring-in and activity sheets for the kids to play. We will also have some free kids races around the event centre – currently scheduled around 3pm on Saturday and we’ll watch the weather and racing activity to slot it in conveniently for all. If there is popular demand, we’ll do another kids race on Sunday morning. – The kids races are very social and fun – usually a 50-100m track around the event centre with fun obstacles (sticks, flags, cones) to keep the little rascals entertained.
The Australian Botanic Garden has some great walking tracks around the event centre and a playground next to their restaurant near the visitor information centre.
Other services:
Pedal4Pierce Raffle – Pedal4Pierce is the charity that Rocky Trail supports on an ongoing basis. Founded by Chris Jefferys when he was only 10 years old in 2009, their motto is: “We ride for kids who can’t.” We are proud to assist them raising much needed money to fund research to cure Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Have a chat to us or Chris about it and you can buy some raffle tickets to help his cause. Prizes include a JetBlack 24 H and a JetBlack 12 Hour 2015 team entry; three SHIMANO MTB Grand Prix solo entries for 2015 and quite a few bike goodies that Chris put together with the help of his supporters. You can check out their Facebook page here.
Showers – outdoor showers will be installed in near the campground. We recommend that you bring bathing shorts or bikinis.
First Aid – the fabulously friendly crew from Pink First Aid will be on-site from Saturday 10am.
Bike Shop – Blackman’s Bicycles are the official bike shop of the JetBlack 24 Hour. We recommend that you have spare-parts that are very specific to your bike with you, otherwise Blackman’s usually have a good selection with them. Any bike-related services and repairs are free, for spare-parts they will charge the standard rates.
Physio – the lovely Hana from Way2Live will be offering physio and massage treatments between 2-8pm on Saturday to relax those tire muscles. A small fee will be charged.
Photos – we will have three official race photographers from OuterImage.com.au out on track for us and you’ll be able to buy your rider photos through their website after the event. Private photography is allowed; any commercial operator is required to apply for an official media accreditation from Rocky Trail Entertainment via email by Friday, 28 November. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
Stay in touch and share the love!
When you take photos at the event, please us the official event hashtags: #jetblack24 and #solo24 – that way we can follow your posts and join in the conversations! You can follow us on the following Rocky Trail social media channels:
We will have a small army of instagramers out and about for us also, so be sure to tune in once in a while to check out what’s going on!
THANK YOU!
It’s great to have you on board and racing with us at the JetBlack 24 Hour and the Australian 24 Hour Solo National Championships – we’re looking forward to meeting you!
We would also like to thank our headline sponsor JetBlack Cycling Australia – these guys have been huge supporters of all Rocky Trail races since our inception in 2008 and the JetBlack 24 Hour is a credit and shall be a tribute to their commitment in the Australian cycling industry.
A huge THANK YOU to the team at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan – the trail godfather Dan Bishop is overseas, but his dedicated crew with Grant, Luke, Kate, Ron, Rebecca and Sharyl have been assisting us and you’ll meet them, they’re fantastic!
A big shout out to all our event supporters!
If you have any further questions, give us a tingle or please email us via cycle@rockytrailentertainment.com and we will reply and add relevant information to this rider briefing also.
Kind regards,
Your Rocky Trail Crew for the JetBlack 24 Hour
- Race Director: Martin Wisata / 0403 090 952
- Event Director: Juliane Wisata / 0416 737 972
- Event Manager: Erica Price
- Event Assistant / Solo Pit Area: Di Gbel
- Event Assistants: Charlie McCabe, Katie Savio-Glasson and Adele Wieser
- Entertainment Manager: Nigel Jefferys
- Pedal4Pierce Raffle: Chris Jefferys
- MC’s: Paul Craft, James Lamb
- Event Crew: Alessa, Nadja, Lisa and Jana
- Race marshals inclucing Rob Wieser, Adam Sprainger, Adrian Azzopardi and Mike Davies
Photos used thanks to Gilbert Romane / OuterImage.com.au and Dan de Witte.
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