What could be described the most gruelling mountain bike event in Australia will hit the tracks in Armidale this weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
At the SportUNE tracks, the World Endurance Mountain Bike Organisation will host their Asia-Pacific solo 24-hour mountain bike championships, Mountain Bike Australia will host their solo 24-hour national championships as well as New England Mountain Bikers' annual 12-Hour in the Piney event.
Seven-time world and nine-time Australian 24-hour solo champion Jason English will be on course as well as current Australian champion and world number two Kate Penglase.
Armidale has played host to many high-level mountain bike events in recent years but this is the first time the city has had a 24-hour.
It will also be the first time Penglase has raced on the UNE tracks.
"I have raced all over Australia and all over the world but Armidale is one of the few places I haven't actually raced," Penglase said.
"I have heard really positive things about the track and the club so I am looking forward to it."
Penglase is expecting a tough course and, given the nature of the 24-hour race, is hoping people come along to cheer the 53 riders on.
"I would encourage all the people to come down and see what it is all about," she said.
"There will be local people from Armidale competing, people from all over Australia and New Zealand as well.
"Any support the riders can get, they would appreciate it."
The venue will hold the 2020 24-hour solo world titles and Saturday's dual 24-hour race will act as a trial run for the globe's major event.
New England Mountain Bikers' president Peter Hosking said having all the events in the one spot on the one weekend was a major accomplishment.
"As of a few weeks ago we have national champs thrown in as well," he said.
"That is a good coup as well, we are not only handing out WEMBO jerseys, it is also the national champ jerseys
"Riders actually like having it all in one event because imagine having two 24-hour events in a couple of weeks, it would be pretty brutal."
Hosking said the endurance race is a spectacle.
"If you watch this run out, it is really impressive to watch how they manage to hold together for 24 hours," he said.
"The nutrition, the food and the whole mental game of it just is impressive.
"When they make to decisions to react something having in the race, their decision making is looking at what they do for the next hour and a half. it just doen'tr happen in the next five minutes."
The annual 12-hour in the Piney will also be held at the SportUNE course this year but with a different twist.
The ride will be broken up into two six-hour blocks, on Saturday and Sunday, to cater for the longer race.
Around 250 people signed up to ride in the 12-hour.