Mountain bike masses set to descend on Alice Springs.

Sam Maffett - Rapid Ascent / 08.04.2008

The Anaconda Mountain Bike Enduro consists of 7 separate stages of mountain biking over 5 days in and around Alice Springs. The shortest stage is a 45 second sprint up Anzac Hill in the centre of town on Monday 19th, while the longest is a 90km trek from Ross River Station back to Alice Springs.

Over 200 riders have already committed themselves to the weeklong mountain biking festivities, easily exceeding the previous entry record of its predecessor: the Central Australian Bike Challenge (CABC), held annually until its demise in 2006. The majority of riders hail from interstate, with Victoria (56) leading the way; New South Wales (43), Queensland (34), ACT (15), South Australia (14) and Western Australia (10) make up the bulk with 4 New Zealanders and 24 “locals”.

With this quantity of riders combined with the many family members who will accompany them all staying in the area for the 5 day event, the event will provide a significant injection to the Alice Springs economy.

“We are very happy with the interest the event has captured so far, we had hoped to attract 200 riders to the event but with entries still coming in it is possible that we will sell out with a field limit of 250 riders” says Event Manager Sam Maffett