The previous parts of this series concentrated on some of the most famous downhill or slopestyle races. The Crocodile Trophy is different but that does not mean it’s not extreme. It is held every year in northern Australia and is divided into stages, each of which extends to roughly 70 miles.
(Video: Youtube/Rocktape Australia)
As they cover the miles, competitors also have to battle the excruciating heat, parching dryness, choking dust and extremely unforgiving surfaces. You have a choice: a hellishly bumpy track which starts jerking the handlebars from your grip after a mile or so, or try and plough through sand. Those who take part describe it as the hardest, longest and most adventurous race in the world.
(Water does not bring any relief. Photo: Regina Stanger/Crocodile Trophy)
Originally the race was supposed to be held in Vietnam, starting in Saigon and finishing in Hanoi. However, the race organiser Gerhard Schönbacher quickly concluded that it would be impossible to stage the race there and switched it to a different continent. There is huge interest in taking part, with about two hundred hard-as-nails competitors lining up at the start every year, but only the very fittest reach the finishing line.
Stay tuned! We’ll bring you more extreme races soon!
