Crocodile Trophy
Rocky Trail racer claims mid-field position at hardest MTB race in the world
Juliane Wisata / 13.11.2010
Martin Wisata secures the 39th place after an exciting time trial finish at the Crocodile Trophy 2010, the 10-day MTB stage race in far North Queensland. Content, happy and proud of his achievements he crossed the finish line with fellow adventure riders and elite racers such as Urs Huber (SUI) who won the race for the second time in a row ahead of Bart Brentjens (NL) and Mike Mulkens (BEL). After two years of assisting the organisers of the Crocodile Trophy, Rocky Trail's Martin Wisata decided it was time to tackle 'The Croc' himself. "Growing up in Austria, where the Crocodile Trophy is very popular, it has always been my dream to experience this event as a racer and take on the challenge to ride 1200km over the ten stages." Supported by his wife Juliane, Martin set off to his adventure of a lifetime with the goal to finish every stage strong and with a smile on his face. All the more he is thrilled about his performance and a 39th rank in the overall classification. "I am more than happy with my result and it was a fantastic experience to ride alongside those great athletes. To be warming up in the morning with road and mountain bike race legends was a thrill and on a good day I was even riding with the likes of ultra-marathon racer Franz Preihs."
The journey is the reward
On 28 October, around lunch time, 66 finishers, and each and every one of them a victor, rolled across the finish line onto the beach of Cape Tribulation. Behind them were 1,200 kilometres and 12,000m of altitude difference, through rainforests, bushland and outback, across pot-holes, corrugations and sand, against heat, wind and one's weaker self. Considering all that, the destination where the 16th Crocodile Trophy was brought to an end, couldn't have had a more fitting name than that of the cape of tribulation. Surrounded by palm trees, a sandy beach and the ocean, however, joy and pride prevailed about the achievements of the past ten days – and with it the beautiful memories.
This year's 16th stage race through the Australian Outback above all was characterised by brilliant athletes and their high levels of endurance – previous Olympic and World Champion Bart Brentjens (NL), multiple Tour de France stage winner and yellow jersey-racer Jaan Kirsipuu (EST), as well as Rene Haselbacher (AUT), a regular at the Tour de France, Vuelta and Giro d'Italia, were among the Croc field.
Podium the same as in 2009
The pace was fast and the competition fierce, says Martin about the daily racing routine. With an outstanding performance during the first stage the Swiss rider and last year's winner Urs Huber was able to gain enough lead to continue controlling the race from the front. At the final time trial the Stöckli team rider was able to prove his superiority on the up-hills and in the end won with a lead of 5.17 minutes ahead of the Dutch Bart Brentjens. See All Event Posts
