Noosa Enduro bike race preview
The Noosa Enduro is back again in 2022, with a huge line up of events over the weekend of 30-31 July.
The Noosa Enduro has a place in Australia's mountain bike history, as a long-running event in the beautiful Noosa Hinterland. While it slipped off the event calendar for a decade, the Noosa Enduro came back with a bang in 2021, and the event became a weekend of off-road cycling with gravel events on the Sunday after the mountain bike events on Saturday.
With the return of the popular event in 2022, the event team have really gone full gas, with more event distance options. They have even had the Sunday gravel race appointed the National Gravel Championships by AusCycling! It's a huge weekend to be a part of. Whether you bring the family, your mates, your partner or just your bike and sense of adventure, there's lots of options for events to take part in. And of course, a trip to Noosa and surrounds isn't too hard to find appealing in the middle of winter. Mark July 30-31st 2022 in your diary, as this is going to be a weekend away worth the wait.
READ: Navigating the Noosa Trail Network
Tell me about the mountain biking!
The main event is the 100km Noosa Enduro. As a classic marathon course, the race starts and finishes in Tewantin, with a loop that takes you through the Noosa Hinterland and its villages and back again. There is almost 2300m of climbing to tackle over the 100km event, so this isn't a walk in the park.
The route leaves Tewantin through a mix of singletrack, fire road, bike path, dirt road and double track. As you head towards Pomona the climbing starts, although you won't be ascending the peaks in front of you, just going around the sides should be enough of a challenge! Pomona is the first check point with food and water – so fill up.
The route continues towards Cooran, and the climbing really starts to hit now, with the majority of climbing done around the 60km mark. Push onwards towards Kin Kin before the route starts to head south and make it's way back towards Tewantin. Much of the riding is on the Noosa Trail Network, a series of multi-use trails in the Noosa Hinterland. Sometimes it's a rainforest singletrack, other times a dirt road on a ridgeline. It's as varied as the hinterland itself!
You'll swap views for tunnels in the trees as you come back to return on a similar route tgat you took out, counting down the kilometres as you head towards Tewnatin to finish what will likely be a big day in the saddle.
Course options for the Noosa Enduro
If big climbs and loose and fast descents have made your palms sweaty – never fear. The Noosa Enduro 60 is for you. With a route that heads to Pomona and back, you're mostly in the foothills and predominantly on gravel roads and double track. With 730m of climbing, the climbing is enough to earn a post-race burger, but not so much that you won't be able to walk for a few days.
Still not sure? New for 2022 is the Noosa Enduro 30. This route takes a scenic lap from Tewantin out and around the Mount Tinbeerwah Lookout. Younger riders may be up to the challenge on this one, and you should be comfortable on a gravel bike or mountain bike. There's singletrack and downhill fun, but it is all really achievable for a wide variety of riders. There's just 330m of climbing in this course, to keep smiles on dials.
There's also a 1.5km kids circuit in the event village, and of course the 100km and 140km gravel events on Sunday July 31st.
With plenty happening at the Noosa Enduro and event expo, and the whole of Noosa and the Noosa Hinterland to explore, there's plenty to see and do on the event weekend at the end of July. This is a beautiful corner of Queensland, with plenty to see and do both on and off the bike. Further event details and entry can be found online.
