Croc Trophy finishes on Four Mile Beach

Thursday October 30 2014, 11:35am

Croc Trophy winners (l-r) Ramses Bekkenk, Cory Wallace, Imogen Smith, Milton Ramos and Marton Blazso (Rosie Wang: The Newsport)

The World’s biggest mountain bike stage race, The Crocodile Trophy, had the finale of its nine-day programme at a finishing line on Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas on Sunday.

The Cairns and Atherton mountain bike trails were at the heart of the action as the course took contestants through remote Australian Outback and lush, tropical rainforests.

With its new UCI listing, it attracted professionals and amateurs alike with more than 100 cyclists from more than 20 countries.

One high-profile contestant was Max Lelli a 14 time Tour de France finisher.

Imogen Smith and Greg Saw were the Elite Champions of the Crocodile Trophy, both representing Australia.

Greg now lives in Norway and said that he “raced in the Crocodile Trophy to reconnect with my home country and to cure my homesickness for Australia."

Other entries were Sharman Parr, who had just turned 60.

All the competitors celebrate at the finish line (Rosie Wang: The Newsport)

She had completed the Hawaiin Ironman competition only two weeks before taking on the Crocodile Trophy and came in third.

Marco Mostri of Italy, had a trying last stage riding his bike without a saddle and staving off the effects of a puncture by using a banana to stem the air flow.

One couple from Portugal, Tiago Silva and Rita Esteves, entered jointly to celebrate their honeymoon.

They did, though decide to finish off with a few days luxuriating in Port Douglas.

The 30km stint in the 9th stage in the Far North Queensland sun on the last stage from Wetherby Station on the Tablelands led to many competitors having a refreshing dip in the sea (including one bike) as a cooling finish to the race.

A racegoer cools off in the water on Four Mile Beach after finishing. (Rosie Wang: The Newsport)

The race organiser, Gerhard Schönbacher, himself an ex-pro cyclist from Austria, was pleased with this year's event and today confirmed that arrangements for 2015 were already under way.

He added that the race route, and the finish on Four Mile Beach in particular, was so popular with riders this year that it would be kept very similar for the 21st edition of the Crocodile Trophy.