- Do I Need To Be Part Of A Cycling Association Or Club To Race?
- Are we allowed to shuttle?
- What is at The Event Centre?
- What Happens At Registration?
- What About Insurance?
- Can anyone race the Pro Stage?
- Can we practice the trails?
- How Do I Best Prepare For The Event?
- What Do I Need To Bring?
- Will Food And Water Be Available?
- What Skill Level Is Needed And How Will The Track Be Marked?
- I Have Never Raced Before, Where Do I Start?
- How To Safely Overtake A Rider
- How Do I Keep Track Of My Time/Laps?
- Will There Be Race Marshals?
- What Happens If A Rider Cheats?
- Can I Bring My Family And Friends?
- Will There Be A Bike Shop To Assist With Bike Repair?
- Will There Be A First Aid Officer?
- What Happens, If It Rains Or If Bad Weather Is Forecast?
- What Happens, If Its a Hot Weather Is Forecast?
- What does Rocky Trail’s Sustainability Pledge mean for event participants?
Do I Need To Be Part Of A Cycling Association Or Club To Race?
You don’t need to be a member of any cycling association to race the Fox Superflow®️. Some offer great insurance packages which are worthwhile checking out and you are in charge of your own health insurance when racing with us.
Are we allowed to shuttle?
Shuttling is not allowed at Superflow events unless it is specified as a shuttled event such as Mt Buller or Falls Creek. You can assist other riders by pushing them or walking their bike up. Towing with a rope is not allowed but we do sometimes grant exemptions for very young (and tired) riders.
What is at The Event Centre?
Event registration tent:
The heart of each Rocky Trail event centre is our registration tent – that’s where you come to meet us and our crew to pick up your number plate first.
Food, drinks, music & entertainment:
We’ll have the music going, there’ll be a coffee van selling food & drinks. Please bring plenty of water yourself.
Event sponsor displays:
Our sponsors will have their marquees set up displaying their products, a lot of which you can test on the day!
Amenities:
We will also have plenty of portable toilets organised plus rubbish & recycling bins.
First Aid:
We have a team of professional paramedics on site throughout all our events.
What Happens At Registration?
Every rider needs to read and sign a Race Waiver. We will have a master copy at registration that you can read through and then sign the document.
You will be issued with your number plate.
What About Insurance?
You are responsible to cover yourself for the race.
Flip Insurance is a new Event Partner for Fox Superflow® and Rocky Trail cross-country events; you can find some more information here:
https://rockytrailentertainment.com/flip-insurance/
Can anyone race the Pro Stage?
The Pro Stages are only open to experienced U23, Elite & Masters riders.
Full face helmet and protection is mandatory.
Can we practice the trails?
The Fox, Stans & Lazer trails are closed for practice on both Saturday & Sunday between 9:00 – 3:30 PM.
If there is a Pro Stage on the Sunday, practise will be made available to those pre registered on and only on this stage on the Saturday however this is at your own risk. Riders must adhere to the Full Face Helmet & protection requirements during practice.
How Do I Best Prepare For The Event?
If you’re starting out in the MTB racing world, Rocky Trail events are a great way to catch the racing bug. We encourage a positive, inclusive and courteous atmosphere. We’d still recommend you do a couple of training rides on your local or favourite tracks to get your fitness up to a level that you are comfortable to ride in a race. If you have never participated in a race before, well, you know your body best.
This is enduro racing with new friends and without a tight schedule. Work with your crew and other racers to figure out the best order to race, get strategic! Elite racer, grom or noob, any age, will have a blast: there are no harsh cut-off times or start orders, which means whatever category you’re in, you can ride together and each lock your own best race run in!
Prepare all your gear and clothes and bring your supplies of race food and fuel. Get a good night’s sleep before the event and eat well – that good old bowl of pasta is never a bad idea!
What Do I Need To Bring?
Yes, you need to bring a bike and a helmet. Racing without either won’t be allowed! All bikes and rider safety equipment must comply with the Australian Standards; uou can race the Superflow® with any approved helmet and we encourage protection gear but it is not compulsory in this race format.
However, you don’t necessarily need the latest carbon fibre ultra ‘bling’ bike. If it is structurally sound and has well functioning brakes, you are good to go. Please also bring drinking water for you.
We suggest you take the following with you when you head out for your race or go out on a lap:
water (cycling bottle or hydration backpack)
your preferred energy gel/bar to keep you going
spare tube
pump
a basic tool kit
tyre leavers depending on how hard it is to get your tyres on and off the rims
bring camping gear if you want to stay overnight
optional: a basic first aid kit
Will Food And Water Be Available?
Yes, we will have a coffee van organised at minimum, who will sell sandwiches and some basic food to fuel up during the event. They’ll also have drinks and please bring your own water supplies for the day to fill up your bottles/hydration packs.
What Skill Level Is Needed And How Will The Track Be Marked?
You should be a quite comfortable and fit mountain biker and we encourage you to take up the challenge to ride in a race! Everyone is out there to have fun and often riders at their first event will most likely race alongside elite racers, that have raced in World Cup and World Championships before – but hey, isn’t that the awesome side of mountain biking?
In the lead up to the event we will ride the track, marking certain sections and placing arrows, signs and directional tape on strategic and critical sections. We’ll try and publish track profiles before race day on our event websites, but a lot of the tracks change frequently or we are forced to make last-minute amends to keep the track safe and to deliver a sustainable race that leaves the track in tact. We always work with “the locals”, ie clubs and land managers to bring you the best and most exciting race track.
Look out for directional Rocky Trail arrows, marking the way at major intersections. We will also work with bunting tape and have other warning signs out on the track, alerting you to technical sections.
A sign with double arrows facing downwards means that a very technical section is coming up.
A sign with triple arrows facing downwards means that an extremely technical section is coming up. If you haven’t checked it out prior to the race you might want to walk it on your first lap.
A line, B line means there are 2 lines to choose where usually the A-line will be more difficult but a bit shorter.
I Have Never Raced Before, Where Do I Start?
A first race can be a bit intimidating, however, do dare giving it a go. We at Rocky Trail are there to help you along the way and if you have any questions or concerns. We’re happy to have a chat and provide you with some tricks, from our own racing experience and from what we see our racers go through during events.
We will have start marshalls at all the race stage starts who will monitor the gaps between riders. Please communicate with our crew, they are there to support you.
How To Safely Overtake A Rider
In case you come up behind a slower racer, please be courteous. You have five possible race runs and if the impact on your race time is severe, you can do another take. Be aware to communicate with the start marshalls who monitor the gaps between racers. We encourage riders to “self-seed” – let faster riders go first, then file in line behind them with monitored gaps. However, mind you, party-trains are definitely encouraged and add to the racing experience and excitement for many of our racers!
How Do I Keep Track Of My Time/Laps?
All race times are LIVE on the website’s Results page and you can scan QR codes in the event center. If you see a discrepancy, please contact the “Race Director” immediately, who will be able to look into it and adjust times/lap numbers if necessary
Will There Be Race Marshals?
Yes. We have start marshals and additional crew roaming, monitoring trails and finishes. They will have basic repair kits and first aid supplies on them to help out. They are also in contact with the Event and Race Directors.
They are also instructed to look out that no riders cheats, ie cuts off parts of the track to achieve an advantage over other riders.
What Happens If A Rider Cheats?
We’d like to think that we mountain bikers are a pretty decent bunch of people and are out there to have fun. Please be aware that there is a simple Rocky Trail process in place:
If you see a rider cheat, please report his race number to us at the timing tent. If you have a witness, ie fellow rider, even better.
We will alert all marshals to look out for that rider. We can really only action on the misbehaviour, if we ourselves, or a marshal witnesses.
In that case the Race Direction will discuss the issue and may hand down a significant time penalty or to delete a lap of that rider. In severe instances we may decide to disqualify the rider.
Can I Bring My Family And Friends?
ABSOLUTELY! All venues are very family-friendly, there are spaces for kids to roam around and as we have the event catered, they should be looked after also.
We do recommend that you bring tents or marquees to provide shade on a sunny day.
The Superflow® races have become particularly popular with juniors – did you know that over one third of our racing field generally is under 17 years old? We have many families race together – we particularly designed our race format and supporting timing set up so that there are now time cut-offs to get to stage starts and riders can pick the order of the stages.
We encourage parents/guardians accompany younger riders out on track – we issue free buddy or marshall plates for those non-racing accompanying riders. Please come to the registration tent with your junior and the crew will issue a buddy plate, which is your free access pass for the race track.
Will There Be A Bike Shop To Assist With Bike Repair?
Yes, we always try to get a dedicated supporting bike shop on-site for the entire day of racing. In the rare cases where we don’t have a bike shop on site we will arrange that there are plenty of supplies and spare parts for sale through our sponsors/supporters.
Will There Be A First Aid Officer?
Yes, we will provide first aid officers, who will be on-site at the race or event. They will be located in a clearly marked tent or area.
What Happens, If It Rains Or If Bad Weather Is Forecast?
Racing in the wet is quite an experience and can be good fun. However, bring lots of warm and rainproof clothes for the laps and afterwards. A bit of rain won’t do any harm, however, if there are torrential downpours and we decide it’s not safe any more then we might either interrupt the race or have it shortened.
We pride ourselves on operating a set of very proactive wet weather procedures. We are very conscious about your safety and the sustainable use of the tracks – so if very bad weather is expected for any of the race weekends, we’ll monitor the situation in the lead up and provide you with updates via our website, social media channels and newsletters.
For certain venues we have specific wet weather policies in place in accordance with the rules and regulations set out by the various land managers. These will be clearly announced and publicised on our website.
For our event cancellation and refund policy, please refer to the individual registration pages on our event web pages.
What Happens, If Its a Hot Weather Is Forecast?
We have a lot of experience with racing in hot weather and also hosting endurance events in hot conditions, like our 24-hour events.
So we are well aware of risks and the challenges our racers will face and we will prepare for it. At our 24-hour races this included routing the race track past the showers for instance so also the solo riders could cool off mid-race and sending out race marshals with extra water supplies and water sprinklers to cool down riders.
We always monitor weather conditions, not only in the lead up, but also mid-race and our main concern is the safety of our riders. We have several options, including delaying starts to avoid the midday heat, resting certain categories (e.g. juniors) until the cooler hours of the day etc.
Rest assured, you’ll be in good hands with us.
What does Rocky Trail’s Sustainability Pledge mean for event participants?
Rocky Trail Entertainment respects and supports the pleasures of mountain biking and related self-reliant outdoor activities. As such the company has been advocating that all of us have a big responsibility to protect and preserve the natural landscape for the enjoyment of future generations.
All Rocky Trail Entertainment events are Ecotourism Certified in the Nature Tourism category by the world-leading Ecotourism Australian Nature Certification by demonstrating best practice in sustainability and ecotourism.
The ECO Certification logo means that with Rocky Trail you are guaranteed to be part of a genuine and authentic trail-based nature experience that looks after the environment. The ECO Certification program assures our customers and community that certified products are backed by a commitment to sustainable practices and provide high quality nature-based tourism experiences.
You can find our Sustainability Policy here – https://rockytrailentertainment.com/sustainability-policy/
In summary we ask our community:
When you attend our events, please take only memories, immerse yourself into nature, enjoy spending time with like-minded people on ‘rocky trails’ and please, leave only footprints and tyre marks on the sanctioned trails and in the event perimeter marked out, if you’re a racer.
We would like to encourage you to follow these simple tips to ‘tread softly’ when visiting the bush and minimise damage to the natural environment:
Please familiarise yourself with the venue rules before you get to the event in regards to pets. A large majority of our competitions take place in State Forests and National Parks with permission by the relevant land management entity. For example, State Forests permit dogs, but visitors should keep them under control and on a lead at all times. If you’re unsure, please get in touch with the Event Manager and we will provide you with the relevant contact or regulations for the venue.
Please dispose of rubbish properly. Use rubbish bins if provided or take it with you.
If camping is permitted at the venue (see event page and Rider Briefing), choose a campsite carefully, at least 20 metres from the edge of any stream or waterway. Use existing areas for camping and do not clear or damage trees and plants. Follow recommendations and/or instructions by the Rocky Trail crew.
Do not cut standing timber, alive or dead, for firewood.
Rocky Trail will communicate facilities in the Rider Briefing ahead of the event. The event will always offer toilet facilities. At a minimum, toilet facilities will be provided in the main event centre. When toilets are not available, bury human waste, use soaps or detergents at least 50 metres from waterways and camping areas. Detergents, toothpaste and soap (even biodegradable) harm fish and aquatic life.
Use established fireplaces wherever possible. Never leave a campfire unattended and extinguish campfires properly before leaving. Follow guidelines and instructions in the Rider Briefing and follow advice by the crew regarding fireplaces. If in doubt, please always ask as the crew will have the latest information on fire rating and permissions.
Sweep away all leaves, grass and other flammable material for at least two metres around your fireplace. Before leaving, thoroughly douse your fire with water, even if it appears to already be out. Don’t try to smother a fire with sand or soil, only water kills a fire with total certainty.
Be aware of fire regulations (especially Total Fire Bans) and promptly report all bushfires by calling 000.
All native plants and animals are protected in forests, parks and reserves. Try not to disturb native wildlife. Don’t feed birds and animals around the event centre, on the trails or at campsites, as unnatural food can be harmful.
Consider other visitors and keep noise to a minimum outside of event hours. Rocky Trail operates under a permit with the relevant land managers and we cooperate with local mountain bike clubs. As part of the event preparations we set event hours and communicate our Event Management Plans.
Visiting forests, parks and reserves outside peak visitor periods can help reduce overall impacts.