Camping
All participants wishing to camp at the event village MUST pre book and pre pay via the "Optional Items" section of the registration process. Entry to the camp village will be via presentation on site of your Registration receipt.
Solos
To ensure the health and safety of everyone, all solo entrants must have a personal assistant/helper. This person must register with race crew prior to commencement of the race. Solos will enjoy a prime pit area adjacent to the transition precinct. Solos and their assistants will NOT be regarded as campers.
Race Format Options
The THULE B24 has several different formats for racing over the weekend and an array of categories. You can enter a traditional 24hr race format, OR the more social Esprit de Corps format. There is also a category for bike industry teams, the "Industry Hot 6", decided upon the fastest 6 individual laps of the team over the course of the event.
Two ways to race, the Traditional way and the Social way.
B24 - The Traditional way - This is raced in the usual relay fashion. One rider at a time from your team goes out for their stint, then tags with a team mate and the team mate then enters the course. The race starts at 12pm and finishes at 12pm on sunday. Who ever has the most laps wins.
Esprit de Corps - The Social way - Team mates can race together and their time is accumulated until 24hrs of riding time is reached. The time does not have to be completed all at once. As you enter the course your time starts, and when you leave it stops. Entry and exit are at control points.
This is the most social way you & your mates can ride a 24hr. Basically your team does the same amount of riding as you do in a traditional 24hr race, but you get to choose when & who you ride with. Rather than going out individually, your team can all go out at the same time, or in pairs, threes, whatever! Once your team has accumulated 24hrs of riding, then you’ve completed the race. The team with the most laps wins.
This is suited to people who really enjoy the social aspect of mountain biking. If you don’t enjoy night riding, then this is the 24hr race to enter. All sorts of tactics will come into how teams complete their 24hrs. When will be the best time to hit the track. When will there be the least amount of traffic. Are you better to do all of your lapping in one go, or have rests in between stints. Whatever you do, the best part is you’ll be out there with your mates helping and encouraging each other.
Example 1. You have a team of 4 and you all want to ride an equal amount. This means that each rider will ride for 6 hours. All 4 riders choose to go out together initially and do a lap. Let’s say it takes them about an hour to do a lap. Once they’ve completed their first lap their team has done 4 hours. They then have a rest and later on do another two laps all together. So now they have done 12hrs and its only 5pm in the afternoon. They decide to kick back, enjoy some of the music and have a great dinner (maybe even venture into town to a restaurant/pub). Two of the team members want to do some night riding, so after dinner they go out and do a lap. The team now has 14hrs done. They come back in and have a great night with the rest of their team mates before hitting the sack for a good nights sleep. The next morning, all riders go out at 8am and complete another 2 laps (22hrs complete) and then stop for a caffeine break. Finally, 2 riders go out at 11am to complete the teams final 2 laps - 24 hours done!
Example 2. Another team of 4 have their kids with them, so can only go out 2 at a time. They decide to go out in pairs for 1 lap at a time and alternate with their team mates. So with the race starting at noon by 6pm they’ve done 12hrs of their race. They’re not interested in riding at night, so spend the night enjoying dinner at a restaurant & put the kids to bed at a reasonable time. The next morning, as usual the kids have them up early & they use the same alternating method from 6am until noon when the race & their time is complete.
Example 3. A group of 6 has a huge variety of rider. They have two guys who are hard core and want to do heaps of riding. They all go out together and do 2 hrs worth. So now they have a total of 12 hrs. The 2 keener guys keep riding for another 4 hrs which is 6 hrs straight. So now the team has done 20hrs, and its only 6pm. The other 4 could finish it off that night with a bit of night riding, or maybe they do it the next morning.
Mmm which tactic would work best?
Example for Juniors. Juniors are limited to a team of 8, due to regulations. In the Esprit de Corps, team members can ride together. In the case for juniors, this means that each team member would ride for approximately 3 hours. So parents rest assured your kids will not be riding all night long. The latest a junior will be allowed to leave transition is 9pm if they are really keen to do a night lap. Juniors can also race in a team with their parents or adult friends, but they are restricted in the amount of riding they should do in accordance with MTBA guidelines.
