The CORC 24hr is back this October!
The CORC 24 Hour mountain bike race is back this October. 24 hour events are a big part of Australia's MTB history. Will you be there?
Photos: Nick Waygood, Russ Baker
Looking back over the past two decades, there was a near constant on the Australian mountain bike scene – a 24 hour race in Canberra. Canberra Off-Road Cyclists (CORC) ran what ended up as one of the most popular mountain bike events around – and from October 1-2 in 2022, the CORC 24hr lands back at Mt Stromlo Forest Park.
Mt Stromlo and CORC 24 hour races
The year was 1999, and 173 keen mountain bikers signed up for the inaugural 24 Hour race, called the Mont 24 thanks to title sponsorship from the Australian adventure gear brand. AMB was there as another sponsor, taking a punt on the event like the 173 riders. With dark clouds brewing above the start, rain stayed at bay and the first year set the stage for what was to come.
The event grew and just two years later over 800 riders signed up for the weekend of mountain biking in the forest. Riders had a better idea of how to really race the events fast, be it solo or in teams. But plenty of riders also knew it was a great way to kick back for a weekend of riding and fun surrounded by likeminded people.
Mountain biking in Australia grew with, and because of the 24 hour scene. After Stromlo was burnt in the 2001 bushfires, a singletrack network at the current Stromlo Forest Park soon emerged. Of course the tragedy of the 2003 fires saw Stromlo's trails disappear, and the race moved to Kowen. After the loss of houses and lives, the 24 hour perhaps played a key role in the social fabric of the strong outdoors scene in Canberra and surrounds.
The 24 hour would land back at Mt Stromlo in 2007, on trails built to a master plan with the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in mind, the World Solo 24 in 2010 , then the WEMBO 24 Hour world solo championships in 2013.
What are 24 hour races all about?
For those who haven't done a 24 hour race before, these events tend to epitomise mountain bike culture. Anyone and everyone can take part, from Olympians through to riders taking part in their first mountain bike race. You can race everyone, or you can race no one. In a way, a 24 hour event compresses mountain biking into a weekend. You can make it what you want, from a solo race to achieve a goal, through to a communal gathering with some timed riding in there somewhere. It's what you make it.
The forest and associated event central and camping areas become a melting pot of sorts at a 24 hour race. After the frenzied opening lap with a Le Mans start, riders and racers find their rhythms. And as dusk approaches, the festival really steps up a gear.
READ: Brett Bellchambers' 24 Hour Memoirs
While 24 hour races have a lot of options for bragging rights between the tape, off the course the competition may be less structured but it is very much real. From flood lit pit zones, through to inflatable furniture to chill on, or better yet, the most prime council collection couch that has been brought in for the weekend – there's an art to making your camp setup just right.
Around the world, 24 hour races are known for being a party on the trails through the night. It might be glow sticks and a quiet doof on a corner of the trail, or some inebriated cheering and jeering where the course loops through the campground – each event and each year is different.
Here in Australia, the CORC 24 hour sure had a party atmosphere for some, and a highly competitive edge for those in the 4-person teams and solo categories in-particular. The CORC 24 hour has helped a number of riders achieve a World Title – but it has done more than that. The CORC 24 hour also made the club grow, allowing it to develop top notch programmes for getting kids on bikes, and nurturing riders in mountain biking. A number of riders competing on the world stage are would owe a lot to CORC, and in turn, the CORC 24 hour races that helped fund the club.
Making a weekend of the CORC 24 hour
All in all, it's a pretty simple formula. You put a team together (there is a range of sizes for you to choose from, an allowance for the more mature rider with some age-groups, and an e-Bike category) of people you know you like spending time with and who like riding bikes. The kind of people your contact list should be full of!
Factor in having someone who is organised, so they can bring a whiteboard or clipboard for lap timing and schedules.
Make sure you have a larrikin, so they can incessantly tease and frustrate your organised mate, mostly by not sticking to any concept of a schedule. If you can, ring in a rider who has more talent than everyone else combined. Ideally, they also take a laissez faire approach to the whole weekend. If someone is pretty handy with some bush mechanics, this is also useful. Whether it's for a make shift repair over night, charging lights off someone else's generator, or keeping your whole camp together in some unseasonable wind – their skill set could be crucial!
The main thing to get right, as you can tell, is the people. Build a team of toppies and get ready to rip on some of Mt Stromlo's best trails. The rest will take care of itself.
The event date is closing in, so get your team together, charge up some lights, air out your sleeping bag and put Mt Stromlo into Google Maps – go have an awesome mountain bike weekend this October 1-2!
Entries are open now – get into it!
