GO WEST FOR CAPE TO CAPE!
Australia’s most popular stage race is back in 2021, and you can be sure that Australia’s top racers will be chomping at the bit to be Cape to Cape champions this October. But let’s not get caught up with line honours here, the big event in the Margaret River region of Western Australia attracts so many riders because it’s a great place to visit, a great time to be in the south-west, and there’s so much to see and do when you’re not on the bike.
Throw in 4-days of really varied stages through the forests, singletrack mazes and farmland, and you can see why Cape to Cape draws such a big crowd each year. The event runs from 21-24 October, but our suggestion would be to tag on a few days of leave one side of the event or the other, so you can really sample what the region has to offer. Whether that’s via grape or grain, or time on the coast, the forests or in the caves, you’re spoilt for choice in this region of Western Australia.
As in 2019, Cape to Cape can be contested in pairs, or solo. Here at AMB we reckon pairs racing is a bunch more fun. You can share the highs and lows, the spills and the spoils of your time on the trails. Hopefully your race partner will be there to support you when you’re struggling, and to back you up when you’re spinning a tall tale post race.
The stages in 2021 kick off with 41km at the stunning Cape Leeuwin, with stage two’s 72km based in Boranup Forest. Stage 3 is 56km long and will take you in and around the mythical Middle Earth singletrack, while the 39km stage four in Margaret River leaves the best until last.
Don’t miss one of the biggest mountain bike events to happen anywhere in 2021, find your team mate and get your entries in. Get all the details on the Cape to Cape website.
Mountain biking only hits mainstream television for the occasional feat of derring-do on a slow news day. That all changes on Saturday 5th June, when Trail Towns airs on SBS, with the first of 6 episodes of the new travel programme that centres on bikes and travel experiences. One of the hosts is mountain bike personality Paul van der Ploeg, and I asked him what a trail town is anyway.
“A trail town could be any town in Australia really, that has trails, whether they be mountain bike, rail trails, road or gravel or all of the above! But I guess more specifically, it’s any town that welcomes families, couples and friends to stay for a holiday, offers great riding, lots of places to stay, pubs, breweries and wineries and a general bike friendly attitude. I grew up in Mount Beauty in Victoria, which is a quintessential trail town with bike paths, a mountain bike park, and fantastic road and gravel riding, and of course, heaps of things to do when you’re not riding.”
You might know Paul as the 2013 Eliminator World Champion, or a Cyclocross National Champion, or that loud bloke from Cape to Cape
– but the fact is he’s someone who has cycling at the core of his life, and he’s stoked to be involved with Trail Towns as he believes cycling can enrich people’s lives.
“The idea came about when Deetz and I first met in 2017. He has been riding since 1990, worked in the iconic bike shop, VicMTB in the 90s and has a background in TV. We immediately hit it off. We both love riding and just wanted to somehow tell everyone about how great it is. The other thing is being from the country, I know how important it is to get people to have a holiday in your region. It helps businesses and everyone. So, Trail Towns was born, and 4 years later, with the incredibly hard work of the Trail Towns team, the support of our sponsors and partners, we’re premiering on SBS.”
As someone who has traipsed around the world racing bikes, Paul has been to a lot of places. But that doesn’t mean that filming the series didn’t serve up some surprises.
“I had visited some of the Trail Towns destinations before, and others were new to me. I love riding in new places, and riding new trails for the first time. Even when we were filming in the Victorian High Country, I did some rides that I wouldn’t normally do as a local. But it was really fun seeing areas I grew up in with fresh eyes.”
Trail Towns went coast to coast, and Paul said Western Australia also offered some surprises.
“I had raced in Pemberton before, but I enjoyed visiting all the small towns in the Southern Forests region. I can’t imagine why people would always holiday in the same places when they can visit somewhere new each time and ride new trails.”
Trail Towns has been an Australian operation so far because of the travel restrictions, but that’s set to change with a New Zealand season in development.
“I’m really looking forward to going to New Zealand, there is just so much to do there for cycling holidays. I’ve been to some of the popular locations but I’m looking forward to riding in new areas – I’ve been hearing a lot about Taupo recently and I can’t wait to go.”