A_M _B_2015_02_03_

16 - AMB

FAST TRACK

William Edward Hickson – he probably wasn’t a mountain biker,

having lived between 1803 and 1870 in Britain. He’s not really

that well known, but he was the man credited with the following

proverb:

‘Tis a lesson you should heed:

Try, try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed,

Try, try, try again.

It’s pretty clear that Duncan Giblin and the rest of the

AvantiPlus Hellfire Cup team have lived by this motto – which

seems to allude to a third time being the likely point of success.

“Third time lucky” it certainly was for the Hellfire Cup, because

in its short history this race has certainly suffered the slings

and arrows of outrageous fortune, but has not folded, nor given

in. Hellfire Cup V1 was scheduled for early 2013 – and a huge,

freak fire-event destroyed so much of the local infrastructure

and sucked so much energy from the local community that the

event had to be postponed. And so it was.

Hellfire Cup V2 was held in November 2013 – this time fire

wasn’t the risk, but rain. Despite a huge turnout of riders –

including some of the very best in the country, and the world,

organisers had no choice but to shorten, cancel and reschedule

stages as trails became too muddy to ride, with senses of

humor failing at various rates amongst competitors.

Which bring us up to date: Hellfire Cup V3 – November

2014. Prior to the event photos of new trails and boardwalk
      had been shared and the mood amongst attendees was one of
      excitement at the registration the day preceding the first stage.
      I say ‘attendees’ intentionally, because although it certainly is
      a race worth winning, with huge prize money and an Elite field
      boasting the best riders – male and female, old and young in
      Australia – it is more of an event that merely a race.

The race village and event centre is nestled in a valley, on

private land, about 45mins drive outside of Hobart – so the

logistics are easy. Fly to Hobart, get a car, drive to the race.

Once at the race there are a two real accommodation options.

1. Pitch a tent or rent a camper van instead of a car – this
   involves less hardship that you might think – the event centre
   has free wifi, excellent showers, a bike washing area, and food
   and coffee vendors open for pretty much all of the day light
   hours. 2. Find some ‘bricks and mortar’ housing outside of
   the event – this is trickier than it might sound as lots of places
   haven’t been rebuilt after the fires, and the race site itself is
   pretty darn remote!

Mercifully all the stages start and finish in the very same

place each day – a huge bonus for all competitors. Best of all, the trails used on each

stage to leave the event centre were so different and varied that I don’t recall riding any

one of them more than once in either direction. The stages are varied, as are the trails

themselves. Some days have two stages, some just the one. The Hellfire Cup is a pairs

race for the most part – so you get to ride with you buddy/mate/partner for a lot of the

race, and it is this element that sets it apart from others – it really brings a great element

of camaraderie to the event.

Day 1 saw stages one and two. The first was a 26km XC style ride – one big loop out and

around the property and the local woodland and hills. After some tight singletrack the

race thinned out, climbing a rocky double, then singletrack ascent. This took you to the

highest point of the course for the day, and from then on some excellent singletrack

through

hell’s gates

WOrDS: ANTHONy SHIPPArD PHOTOS: DuNCAN GIBlIN

a tale from the hellfire cup