Crocodile Trophy
Gordon/Bennett Lead Aussie Attack on Croc Trophy
John Flynn / 27.08.2008
The strongest and best-credentialed line-up of Australians yet to contest the Crocodile Trophy will face-off against the Europeans when Australia’s legendary outback classic hits the dirt and dust of remote Tropical North Queensland on October 21st. Confirming its participation in 2008, the Merida Flight Centre team, led by Perth’s Tim Bennett, will return for a second shot at winning the world’s longest, hottest and toughest off-road cycle event.
Bennett became only the second Australian to make the podium of the Crocodile Trophy last year, when he finished an impressive third behind former World Cup Champion Mauro Bettin of Italy and Ondrej Fojtik of the Czech Republic.
In 2008, Bennett will once again be joined by Merida Flight Centre team-mate Nick Both, who showed superb form to finish second in last weekend’s 2008 edition of the Flight Centre Epic at Peppers Hiddenvale. Both were beaten by Australian Champion Chris Jongeward, on a day when the Merida Flight Centre Team did enough to suggest the goal of winning the Crocodile Trophy is not beyond reach.
“Yeah sure, I think I can finish higher on the podium this year at the Crocodile Trophy,� Bennett said after battling illness to finish fifth in Sunday’s race. “I learnt a lot last year and know what I have to do; it’s a tough race.�
But the Merida Flight Centre Team won’t just have the Europeans to worry about at this year’s Trophy, with the announcement that 2006 World 24 Hour Champion Craig Gordon will be putting an end to the talk and showing up to contest the race many of his fellow Australians have long been frightened to enter.
Gordon, many-times rumoured to be starting the Crocodile Trophy, will finally get his opportunity to “show the Euro’s how it’s done�, after being handed a wild-card entry to the great race.
With Australia’s “Croc Man�, two-time champion Adam Hansen (Team Columbia) unlikely to make it home from Europe in time to race his beloved Trophy, the opportunity awaits for another home-grown talent to earn international gravitas on the dusty corrugated roads of Australia’s steamy tropical north.
“It’s great to see the Australians getting hungry and with the Merida Flight Centre Team returning I believe Bennett could be a chance for the overall classification if circumstances go his way,� Race Supremo Gerhard Schoenbacher said.
“If you ask Adam Hansen, Christophe Stevens or Mauro Bettin, the former champions will all tell you that you must experience the hardship of the Crocodile Trophy before you can win it.�
The start-list for the fourteenth staging of The Trophy, from Mareeba to Cape Tribulation in Austra-lia’s remote Far North, has been capped at a record 100 riders, with the Belgian contingent alone expected to number close to forty when the final marquee signings are made public.
On the other side of Europe, a dozen battle-hardened mountainbikers from the Czech Republic have confirmed their attendance at the iconic race. They include triple stage-winner Ondrej Fojtik, who will enter the 2008 Crocodile Trophy as provisional favourite.
The two-time runner-up (2004 & 2007) made a vow at the end of last year’s Trophy to “one day come back and win this great race.� Fojtik’s 2008 campaign has raised the stakes to a new level. He will return as part of a ten-man contingent from Czech team VIG+ Racing, fronting a lineup stacked with Marathon World Cup talent.
“We always welcome the Czech riders at the Crocodile Trophy, they bring with them a strong work ethic and survival instincts, especially Fojtik� Crocodile Trophy Race Supremo Gerhard Schoenbacher noted.
“As Fojtik and Radoslav (Radek) Sibl have also shown us in recent years, the Czech mountainbikers have strong endurance qualities and are always threatening in the final days of the race.�
Cyclists from 13 nations have already signed on for the 2008 Crocodile Trophy including Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Austria, The United States, Spain, The Czech Republic, Great Britain, Denmark, and Switzerland. See All Event Posts
