THE WORLD IN DERBY
The EWS came back to Derby, and all we can say is we hope it comes back again.
The first time I rode in Derby, Tasmania was March 2015. Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) had announced that Derby would be hosting the Cross-Country Marathon (XCM) National Championships in Derby for the next two years. I was invited down by Launceston local Ben Mather, who has not just been a driving force on the pedals for over a decade, but a driving force behind the growth of mountain biking in the north east of Tasmania.
We drove out from Launceston for the day, and tackled some of the first trails that were put in, even having to walk sections that were still being built by World Trail teams. From the playful trails along Axe Head to the circuitous switchbacks at Twisties and then the tree fern forests along Krushka’s – it was clear this was
a mountain bike nirvana. We climbed to the top via Krushka’s and descended fresh trail down Rattler and Howler, stopping for some photos but mostly to exclaim “how good is this!”. I’ve since visited Derby 6 other times – and that feeling of elation has never left. So just how good is Blue Derby?
I am often guilty of looking beyond our shores for a trail fix; riding somewhere high, somewhere remote, somewhere new. But any trip to Blue Derby reminds me that we have an international mountain bike destination right here in Tasmania. And as the Enduro World Series (EWS) circus visited for the second time it was clear that our pride in this destination isn’t misplaced patriotism. It’s just an awesome place to ride wherever you’re from!
The World comes to Derby
You often hear it said by riders who get to travel the world, or who have raced in Europe anyway: in Europe you ride hiking trials, in Australia you ride mountain bike trails. And Blue Derby is one of the best examples of that. Just about every metre of trail in Blue Derby has been built with mountain biking in mind. But that’s not to say there was no mountain biking here before the trail teams got to work. Riding in the area started with some adventure rides up to the Blue Tier, and there was even an event here called The Blue Dragon, which Ben Mather ran. He and his wife Rowena Fry live in Launceston but have a close connection.
Given Ben took me here the first time in 2015, standing with him in the event village of the Enduro World Series round almost exactly 4 years later is pretty surreal.
“I don’t think anyone could stand back and say they expected it to be what it is now. I had always hoped it would be a place people would come to go mountain biking. I had imagined it might be more adventure riding, back at the start when I was looking at it. The scale that it is now, I can’t expect anyone would have imagined it would be such a success – it has been way quicker than anyone might have anticipated.”
Moving around us we have the best gravity enduro riders in the world. People have travelled from around Australiaa to be here, and there’s not a spare bed available in Derby or any of the towns nearby – and the campground is at capacity.
“It gives you tingles,” says Mather. “Tasmanians are pretty proud of their home state, but to see a World Enduro Series round come to Derby, you can’t have even imagined that. It’s amazing to see it happen and I don’t think it will be the end. There’s St Helens to come and Maydena is on the tip of people’s tongues. And $4.5 million was just announced for Georgetown for another 100km
of trail. Then there is Wild Mersey, Pengiun and more. It’s not just Derby, the whole state is developing into a mountain bike hub.”
Six stages of mountain bike master classes
The EWS round in Derby covered six stages, with the longest stage on Saturday afternoon. With riders doing practice in the morning and the EWS 80 taking place, the trails were a hive of activity all day. But after lunch, there was a steady stream of people heading up the hill, finding a place in the forest, and getting set to get their heckle on.
The stage down Kumma Gutza ended up like a downhill race. Sure, there was pedalling, but it was all in for the one stage that afternoon, and the crowds were epic. With a little bit of rain thrown in for some greasy action it meant the racers were on edge. The noise in the Vertigo Heckle zones was unbelievable. We don’t always get a big crowd to bike races in Australia – but the crowds in Derby really set a new benchmark. There were superheroes and villains, suits and ties, sumo suits, chainsaws and just about any variety of bike parts being bashed together to make noise. If you wanted to take the temperature on how well the EWS was being received in Tasmania – you just had to be track side.
“That was pretty hectic, a bit spicier than I anticipated,” said Josh Carlson after his run. “Some of those bits in the middle you were just on the edge, just hoping it would work out.” Some racers had slippery runs, others had hero dirt. It’s the luck of the draw with racing. Martin Maes impressed everyone with his supremecey and Isabeau Courdurier was the fastest woman down – and like Maes it was no huge surprise. Both riders are on another level. Local Row Fry was in 3rd and Connor Fearon was in 2nd behind Maes. There was a lot for us all to be excited about and it was a sign of things to come.