Now in its fourth year, the Kowalski Classic is a one-day showcase of the famous trails in East Kowen Forest and Sparrow Hill. The event celebrates the achievements of local trail builders Paul Cole, Alan Anderson and the mysterious Kowalski Brothers Trailworks, who together have hand built over 100km of flowing trail in East Kowen (the Kow) & Sparrow Hill (the Bird).

Love single track? Then you will love the Kowalski Classic.

RACE DAY IS SEPT 20. Registrations are now Open!!

WHAT'S NEW IN 2015?

New Course. The Kowalski Classic is all about singletrack (in mind bending amounts), so each year we design a bold new course — weaving together our all-time favourites, long lost (seldom ridden) friends and folding in trails we've just built for debut on race day. The course is quite different each year and 2015's will be no exception. Expect a day full of flow, challenge and smiles on this grand tour of skinny dirt. A singletrack marathon like no other.

New Loop Order and Wave Starts. We have made a number of changes to reduce on-track congestion early in the race. The main changes are: 1. Riders in the Full Kowalski will head out on a different 50km loop to the Half Kowalski. 2. We will increase the time gap between wave starts. 3. We will include more passing opportunities (double single track and stabs of fireroad).

New Race Distance. At 25km, the QRTR Kowalski (Tyrion) is a distance that will suit riders coming into the sport as well as those getting back on the bike and unsure if they have the legs for the Half Kowalski. Loads of singletrack and never too far from HQ. Sweet.

Junior Category. The minimum age has been lowered to include riders 12 years and up.
(Parental consent is required for participation in Junior category)

Registration at East Hotel. East Hotel are sponsor and Official Accommodation Partner for 2015. Race registration will be held at East Hotel on Friday afternoon and Saturday before race day, so book a room for the weekend, register for the race, collect your event merchandise and kick back in ridiculous comfort. (See the race website for packages)

New Trails. Absolutely. The trail builders have been busy in Sparrow and East Kowen, so you can expect to ride lots of new trail (Scroll down for images of work currently under way)

Which distance is for you?
Each race distance features a great combination of our favourite trails so there’s no compromise should you choose something shorter (high on smiles, lower on distance). The Bird is the Word. The Kow is like Wow.

AND THE FORESTS WILL ECHO WITH LAUGHTER

The Kowalski Brothers Trail Crew are hard at work building two bold new trails:
1. Stairway to Heaven is the toughest and longest climb they've ever built. Steep, squirrely and downright technical in places, it snakes up the hill in a most devilish way. It features benched traverses, uphill berms and some radical rockwork. Keep something in your tank for this one.
2. The Trail That Cannot be Named (not its real name) is a new descending trail right beside Stairway to Heaven. The terrain is steep and rocky so you can look forward to plenty of features, jumps and a healthy amount of gnar. More technical by design, this trail will ask for your undivided attention, so pack some attitude (and maybe some Band-Aids).

See All Stories On This Race