The Quad Crown will once again roll into The Sunshine Coast June 7-9. Exploring Sugarbag, Parklands and Dularcha National Park, Ewen Maddock Dam and Ferny Forest over a Prelude and 2.5 stages, it’s the second time the series has landed in Queensland.
We caught up with Race Director Jason Dover and Course Designer Liam McGuire to get the lowdown on what’s new for 2024 and a sneak peek of this year’s race courses.
Related:
- The Wild Penguin kicks off the 2024 Quad Crown series in Tassie
- Stage Racing For Everyone | The Quad Crown series is back for 2024
What’s new for The Sunny 80 in 2024?
Having already run an event on the Sunshine Coast, the Quad Crown team have better footing going into this year’s race, and also won’t have to make mass changes to a stage because of a last-minute traffic management approval issue.
With that experience under their belts, Dover explains they can fully focus on improving the rider experience. The Quad Crown is designed to be a mini-stage race, giving folks who aren’t at the pointy end of the elite field an achievable entry into stage racing.
And with that in mind, Dover says they are ratcheting back the overall difficulty of the course, and cutting down on the total metres climbed.
“It’s designed to be a sample — a snackable format — to get into stage racing without committing four days or a whole week away. Based on some of the feedback we got last year, we’re also making the stages a little bit easier,” he says.
Beyond removing some of the nasty fire road climbs, at The Wild Penguin they implemented a shortcut for folks towards the back of the field who were struggling in the twilight of each stage.
“We had a really good response in Tassie to that idea,” he says. “It gave people the confidence that they couldn’t bite off more than they could chew. We’re conscious that this might be your first stage race or multi-day event, and we want everyone to have an enjoyable ride. The stages are a challenge, but it’s going to be doable. And we’ll even help to make sure it’s doable.”
Queensland’s wet autumn
If you’re not aware, it’s been pretty darn wet here in Queensland since before Christmas, and things are as lush as they’ve ever been. However, that also means that the trails in the region have been closed, some for an extended period. One reason for that is to protect them, in part for this event.
“We have been talking to the locals and stakeholders, and they’re all confident they always get rain at this time of year. It’s been more than normal, but they’re confident things will dry out,” says McGuire.
Dover did have a request to locals, as there have been reports of people at Sugarbag pulling down bunting and riding trails that are closed because they are wet.
“The reason that councils and trail authorities close parks is to protect the trails so that when they dry out, they’re not all cut up. That short-term mentality of some people who are going in and taking down bunting even though it’s been really wet, the long-term damage that does to the trails is a greater risk to our event than bad weather on the day,” he says.
Quad Crown The Sunny 80 course preview
Prelude | Sugarbag | 8km, 100m Vert
The Prelude takes place on Friday afternoon and serves two purposes: seeding the start waves for the following day and setting your baseline handicap, which is used to award the Warrior Crown.
This handicap is based on your average speed through the course, and the Warrior Crown is awarded to the rider who matches or exceeds their handicap by the most over the two stages. So, even if you’re not at the pointy end of the field, you still have something to compete for.
The Prelude course will be similar to last year’s, hitting trails like Party Mix, Syrup, and Honeycomb.
“Last year, when we got to the bottom of the main flow line and then climbed back up to just under the pump track and went down the dual slalom. We cleaned up an existing climbing trail that wasn’t often used and people kept riding it — it’s become pretty popular. Since then, the council has said they’ve come in and rejigged some of it and added in some new rock armouring,” says McGuire.
One difference in this year’s course will be that what was the dual slalom course is now a new jump line. This will be included in the course provided it’s ready in time.
Mcquire believes the crux of the course will be the final climb back up to the finish.
“You’ve just had a heap of fun and go through all those tracks, and it’s about a 300m climb back up on asphalt to get back to the pump track area and then into the finish,” says McGuire.
Dover did note, Sugarbag is arguably best known for the wooden features on a trail called Bees Knees which look a bit intimidating. For folks who may be nervous about that, he wanted to make clear that this trail is not a part of the course.
Once the racing has wrapped up, it’s over to Moffat Brewing for the presentation and social function. Dover notes that Moffat was named the Grand Champion of the RNA Royal Queensland Beer Awards.
Stage One | Parklands | 30km, 700m vert
Stage one of Parklands last year was a doozy at 32km with about 1,300m of climbing, but Dover says folks came up to him afterwards and said, despite the difficulty, it was one of the best stages they had ever ridden.
With that, for 2024, McGuire has cut the fat and maximised the fun of lopping 500m of climbing off the course. Last year, there was a bit of a start loop, and they were trying to filter riders through a trail called Lush as quickly as possible.
As a result, we ended up on fire trails that went around the whole perimeter of the area to make it work. That included a couple of creek crossings and some really steep fire trails that most people walked,” he says.
All that is gone for this year.
McGuire says the start/finish will be at the same spot, and instead of going on a tour of the fire roads, the course heads straight into the singletrack on a trail called Blue Tongue.
From above the map looks complicated, but it will hit the best trails from last year, including Hoe Chi Ho, Upper and Lower New Zealand, Cancer Tree and Road Rage. According to McGuire that last one is going to be the crux of the day.
“It’s right in the middle of the course, and towards the end, it’s just constant technical riding — on and off the power all the time. There are some really rooty sections to get over some switchback climbs — it’s a real XC challenge.
McGuire also notes they’ve built in a shortcut that will cut a few kilometres off the end of the course for those who are really struggling.
After the racing is done, the show will head for Your Mates Brewing for the evening’s festivities.
The Special Stage | Ferny Forest | 10km, with 90m vert
The Ferny Forest special came about because a last-minute approval didn’t come through last year, and so to run stage two, it had to be split into mini-stages. This last-minute curve ball made for the Ferny Forest Special Stage which people loved, so it’s back for 2024.
Starting at the Mooloolah Country Club, there will be a rollout to the trailhead, where there is about a 300m drag into and back out of the trail. Dover and McGuire say there will be a drag race for the hole shot and then at the other end to the finish.
“Ferny Forest is pretty much just all singletrack out and around — constant turning, tons of corners. I’ll probably be won and lost in the sprint back to the finish. It’s a really wide open forest road,” says McGuire
This twisty and turny stage is only 10km with 90m of climbing, so it’ll be a fast one too.
Stage Two | Ewen Maddock Dam | 24km, 320m vert
Part two of stage two also rolls out from the Mooloolah Country Club and heads for Dularcha National Park.
“There is a climb up to go through the old railway tunnel to start with, and then its back over the tunnel to get up to Tunnel Ridge Road. From there, you go down to all the trails that are on the southwestern side of Ewen Maddock Dam,” says McGuire.
With 24km of riding on the agenda and 320m of vert, Dover and McGuire say the stage is bookended by climbs that will make or break the racing.
“I think that first climb after you’ve gone through the tunnels will be a key part of the course. It’s very technical. It’s at about 9km and comes after the tunnel, which is obviously pretty flat; you’ll climb up to Tunnel Ridge Road,” says Dover
McGuires pick for the crux of the day comes one kilometre from the finish.
“Right towards the finish, at about the 23km mark, there is a little pinchy climb that’s really steep and really loose. It’s the final climb after you come across the Dam wall,” he says.
Then, it’s back to the Country Club for presentations and farewells.
How do you enter The Sunny 80
Entries for The Sunny 80 are open now!
Dover wanted to reiterate that although the Quad Crown is a series, each of the events stands on its own, and you don’t have to commit to racing all four events when you sign up.
In fact, you don’t even have to do the whole two and half days if you’re not quite ready for it, and you can choose to sign up just for one stage if that’s the challenge you’re looking for.
For more info or to book your spot, head over to the Quad Crown website.
