Reef to Reef 2022 Day 4 - Blasting the Bump Track
The final day of the 2022 Reef to Reef traces the same route as the iconic Triple R, running from Rural, to Rainforest, to Reef.
The final day of a stage race can feel the same no matter the length, from 3 days to a 9 day stage race, you wake weary, and ready to get it done. The fourth stage of the 2022 Reef to Reef would see riders tackle a point to point stage, a true adventure. With the gun going off at Mt Molloy, riders would traverse some rural trails around Wetherby Station and beyond, before hitting Black Mountain Road and taking the right hand into the historic Bump Track.
Coming into the final stage, most categories were sewn up. Tasman Nankervis and Alex Lack had about a 10 minute lead of Brendan Johnston and Jon Odams in Open Men. Anna Beck and Karen Hill had an unassailable lead in Open Women. Em Viotto and Karl Michelin-Beard had a healthy 5 minute gap in Open Mixed, and Masters, Grand Masters and Super Grand Masters all looked like a sure thing.
But stage racing offers no promises until you're over the finish line, and a couple of solo categories were still all to play for, so it was serious business for some as riders entered the start chute at Mount Molloy this morning.
As the gun went, we rode steadily out through the park and gained the dirt road. Every corner and slight rise gave riders the opportunity to force the pace. And while this could be leaders looking to extend, it was also coming from other teams and riders looking to gain advantage and time.
We skirted cane fields, open pasture and regrowth bush. Sometimes on cow-trodden trails, sometimes pumping through moto ruts, and even on freshly graded fence lines.
Soon enough, we were climbing towards the range, a steep climb that we had descended yesterday. Jon Odams and Brendan Johnston were edging away from the race leaders Nankervis and Lack, in the Mixed pairs Peta Mullens and Jarrod Moroni found the lead under the watchful eye of Em Viotto and Karl Michelin-Beard.
The mighty Bump Track beckoned, and the start is a roller coaster of brown ribbon in the rain forest. There are one or two good lines and plenty of other options. As it's the dry season there's plenty of leaf litter to keep things interesting, and first timers would soon realise that the Bump Track isn't all downhill!
But after the creek crossing and hike a bike out, a few more pinches lead to the start of the unrelenting descent. While it's low on overall technical difficulty, I'd say the dust has only just settled. It's chopped up, with plenty of rocks ready to catch the edges of tyres run a little soft, and enough gradient to cook brakes for those who haven't managed their braking.
The final 10km into Port Douglas was a fight next to canefields, past luxurious resorts and then onto the beach. The tide was out, the sand was hardpacked, and riders pushed on for the last 4km past coconuts, holiday makers and topless swimmers.
The finsih line out the front of the Port Douglas Surf Livesaving Club was pumping. Family and friends of racers were on hand, the ocean beckoned, finishers medals were awarded and high fives were going all-round.
Reef to Reef isn't an overly arduous stage race in the scheme of things. In fact, this year has been one of the most friendly stage races I have ever done. The event is in an ideal location, in an ideal climate, with a wide mix of terrain to keep things interesting. People raced hardtails, plus bikes, I even saw a Forbidden Dradnought being used. It's an adventure and it's up to you how you choose to tackle it.
Still, the experience of finishing and the genuine stoke for being finished is the same for all who crossed the line in the sand at Port Douglas. The final day really wraps up the event ideally, while also paying hommage to the long-standing Triple R event that had its 30th running today.
In the end, Johnston and Odams won the stage, but overall honours went to a storming Tasman Nankervis and Alex Lack. Em Viotto and Karl Michelin-Beard came second behind Peta and Jarrod but won overall. Anna and Karen had a clean sweep in Open Women. All Masters and solo category results can be found online.
Our take on Reef to Reef
Sitting as one race in the Epic Series, Reef to Reef sits apart. It's a bit smaller, and it is the youngest event compared to Cape to Cape in Western Australia, and Port to Port in New South Wales. But while it is part of a series, it is well and truly its own event, with a character matched to what you may expect in Tropical North Queensland. It's wild, it's varied, it's tough and it is laid back. This is one for the calendar, and if you haven't done it you need to get up here for 2023.
All photos by Tim Bardsley-Smith
