It still feels like yesterday that the 2024 Quad Crown began, but it is already time for round three of the four-series event.
The Crown steamed through the Wild Penguin of Tasmania and the Sunny 80 of the Sunshine Coast, placing us at the doorstep of The Orca. It also has a very nice doorstep—located on the Sapphire Coast. The destination is known for the trail networks of Gravity Eden and Tathra MTB Park, its picturesque ocean views, and its warm and welcoming community.
Last year, the Sapphire Coast added to these charming traits with a whole bunch of new trails in Eden. The Orca event marked the opening of these trails, and it was a massive success. Since then, refinements have been made to the course, setting the hopes high for another great ride in 2024.
The team behind the Quad Crown have been hard at work to prepare for this round. To find out what is in store for riders, we got in touch with Race Director, Jason Dover, and Course Designer, Liam McGuire, who gave us the ins and outs of this year’s race.
Related:
- Welcome to Paradise | Exploring Gravity Eden
- Stage Racing For Everyone | The Quad Crown series is back for 2024
Quad Crown The Orca | Course Preview
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. This saying has been circulating The Orca event since last year, because the 2023 race was anything but ‘broke’.
Jason Dover says that without a doubt, McGuire, the Quad Crown Course Manager, put together damn near a perfect course last year.
With such a solid foundation, the Quad Crown team was able to focus on refinements rather than completely rebuilding the event from the ground up.
The new trails of Eden were a major hit in 2023; Contour Works delivered some fantastic new loops, which riders just couldn’t get enough of.
Unfortunately, a few of the Eden trails were closed off last year. Nature wasn’t playing ball and delivered a lot of rain and not enough sun, meaning that many of the trails were still too soft to ride. But that was almost a year ago now, and the ribbon is ready to be cut on trails that didn’t make it into the program last time.
Heading to Tathra and Eden again, the basic schedule of the Quad Crown Series will still stand. The Prelude will be held on Friday for riders to secure their handicap for the weekend, followed by the main stage events on Saturday and Sunday.
The Prelude | 9km, 280m Vert
As per usual, the Prelude will be held before the Welcome Function on Friday. Riding this swift loop will set each racer up with their handicap for the weekend, putting them in the running for the Weekend Warrior Award.
McGuire says that the Prelude will be very similar to last year, with only a few refinements to the course. One change which has been made is the addition of a new trail, Straight 6, which riders will finish with this year.
The loop may be short, but it will be sweet. The Prelude will offer a carefully picked selection of trails from Gravity Eden, including some of the newbies from the park. Folks will be in for a great time on Friday, but it will only be a taster of the flowy Eden trails before they get a bigger bite of them on Sunday.
After riders have kickstarted the weekend with the Prelude, all eyes will be set on the Friday Welcome Function.
Last year, riders congregated at Hotel Australasia on the main street. This year, however, there is talk of moving venues to the Great Southern pub in the centre of Eden. This is not fully confirmed yet, but both sites are sure to provide the usual Quad Crown energy, atmosphere and drinks!
Saturday Stage 1 | 35km, 700m Vert
Saturday is Tathra’s day. All set for the first stage of the weekend, riders will head 45 minutes up the coast from Eden to the Tathra Mountain Bike Park and surrounds.
McGuire says that Saturday’s course will be very much the same to what folks saw in 2023. The loop will have a similar distance and elevation gain to last year, and the stage will begin with dreamy ocean views to the south
From here, the coastal trails out of town will work to quash those race-day nerves before folks cross over into the rustic trails of Bundadung.
Bundadung will test riders against some old-school cross country loops, very different to the smooth, hard packed dirt of Eden.
McGuire says the trails at Tathra create a great variety to the riding over the weekend, also alluding to the possibility of some new sections finding their way into the course.
“There are some trails on the southern side called the Fire Shed Trails that are private property….we haven’t been able to use them as yet, so we’re hoping we can get to include them this year,” says McGuire.
Even if these trails don’t present themselves on the Saturday, McGuire says that the trails which are already planned are fun and super fast, taking riders through extensive stretches of coastal forest.
After a big morning of riding, the stage will finish directly outside the Tathra Hotel, where the presentations (and beer kegs) will be held.
“(The Tathra Hotel) overlooks all the water… it’s the best place that you could ever want to start and finish your bike race, let alone do the presentations and have lunch there after,” Dover says.
After parking their bikes down the laneway to the rear of the pub, riders can sit back and relax until the presentations begin.
Sunday Stage 2 | 40-50km, 900m Vert
Sunday will dawn with riders lining up in Eden for the final stage of The Orca. If this year will be anything to what it was last time, Stage 2 will leave riders clamouring for more.
This stage was a crowd favourite last year. It is also the part of the race, however, which has seen the most change. High on the list of differences will be the removal of the brutal start climb, plus the addition of more of the new Eden trails.
“Last year we started and finished at the golf course, which was basically a construction site…we sent everyone up a horrendous climb, which we kind of had to do to get them (to the top) so they could come down Around the Outside (one of the new Eden trails) for the first time,” says McGuire.
This year, the morning will present a flowy, fun and fast singletrack replacement for the initial start climb. No need to fret — the stage will still have plenty of climbs in store; they just won’t appear in the form of one massive hill.
“It’s just going to be a much more fun stage… easily doable for the average rider,” says Dover.
Among the different trails included in this year’s stage, an especially exciting addition will be an Eden original: Salt Lizard. When the new trails were built last year, Salt Lizard was done up by the build crew and it is now one of McGuire’s favourite trails in Eden. He says you can’t visit the area without giving it a go.
After a full plate of Gravity Eden has been served, the next plate to fill will be provided by the generous kitchen and bar at Hotel Australasia. Riders will finish the last Stage, then file into the pub for the final celebrations and award ceremony.
The Handicapping System and Weekend Warrior
Similar to each of the Quad Crown rounds, The Orca will use a unique handicapping system during the event. In this way, riders will not only be racing against the clock, but also against themselves.
From the handicap that folks will receive after completing Friday’s Prelude, the rider who is the closest to this time over the two days of racing will be crowned Weekend Warrior.
This means that you do not need to be in the elite ranks, or even to have raced in a Quad Crown event in the past to be acknowledged for your efforts.
Dover wants to emphasise here that you do not have to be at every race to be eligible for the Warrior Award.
“We are presenting (the Weekend Warrior) at each event on a standalone… there’s only carryover of points from Elite, which is about 10% of our field, whereas 90% of the field are on the Weekend Warrior Award,” says Dover.
With so many races of experience with the handicap system and Weekend Warrior Award, the Quad Crown team have now got the format down to a tee.
Why head to Sapphire Coast?
Each of the Quad Crown destinations is a new adventure. The Sapphire Coast has the luxury of having a homely country-town feel, along with an unmatched riding scene that you can’t get at big-city events.
“The two towns (Tathra and Eden) are the journey of going to the Sapphire Coast…there are breweries and wineries in between, there are oyster farms, there are cafes… I think that’s part of the adventure of getting away to a new destination over a long weekend,” says Dover.
Dover also admits that the Sapphire Coast is one of the events which reflects the nature of the Quad Crown the most.
“I think the location suits our event model (of the Quad Crown Series) really well… it’s a tourism destination that a lot of people may not have been to before, and it’s a great excuse for a long weekend away to be able to go to an awesome spot, but also take your bike.”
How to Enter
The countdown to the event has started, and before you know it, wheels will be directed to the New South Wales coastline.
So, why not? Get on to the event website and put your name down for an epic weekend away.