The Crocodile Trophy

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Austrian Heinz Zerwig Wins Stage Five

John-Michael Flynn / 24.10.2005

It may go down in history as the best ever ‘pure mountain bike’ stage of the Crocodile Trophy.

It will certainly go down in history as one of the most dramatic!

On paper, today’s 75 kilometre journey from Blencoe Falls to Koombooloomba Dam in Far North Queensland appeared perfectly suited to Marathon World Cup Champion Mauro Bettin.

And when the riders hit the trail, it was the leader of the Felt-Shimano Dream Team who surged to the front, his superior technical riding skills evident as the Italian edged away from fellow protagonists on the steep climbs and technical rocky descents.

But somehow, during a stage where the Crocodile Trophy shook its tag of being a ‘road race on dirt’, things just went wrong for the self described ‘Premier’ rider in this year’s race.

Whether due to bad luck or bad planning, Bettin was caught out on a steep rocky descent at the 25 kilometres mark of today’s stage with a leaking tyre which couldn’t be repaired and with the race rules stipulating ‘no mechanical assistance’ his Crocodile Trophy campaign was immediately in severe jeopardy.

Bettin chose one of the most remote points of this year’s event to find trouble, but the Italian’s resilience and ability to ride for more than twenty kilometres on a rim before borrowing a wheel from team-mate David Wood, kept him in contention for the General Classification of the World’s toughest mountain bike race.

Bettin wasn’t the only hard luck story emerging from today’s tough and technical stage.See All Event Posts