Crocodile Trophy
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | October |
| Region | North Queensland, Australia |
| Discipline | Mountain bike racing |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | Gerhard Schönbacher |
| Race director | Gerhard Schönbacher |
| History | |
| First edition | 1995 |
| Editions | 17 (as of 2011) |
| First winner |
 Harald Maier (AUT) |
| Most wins |
4 wins  Jaap Viergever (NED) |
| Most recent |
 Ivan Rybařík (CZE) |
The Crocodile Trophy is an annual mountain bike ten day stage race held in North Queensland, Australia. The race typically covers around the 1,200 kilometres (746 mi) over 10 stages and is known to be one of the most demanding mountain bike race in the world. The race is marked for the heat and the rough terrain of the Australian Outback. It claims to be 'the hardest, longest and most adventurous MTB race in the world'.
History
The race was originally intended to take place in Vietnam. The event would last 18 days, starting in Saigon and finishing in Hanoi. But after spending two weeks in Vietnam race organisers Gerhard Schönbacher realized it was not possible to organise the event in Vietnam. Later on he found an alternative in Darwin and decided that the first route of the Crocodile Trophy would run from Darwin to Cairns.[1] The race's route would change every year.
Classifications
The Crocodile Trophy's leaders jersey is awarded after each stage to the rider with the lowest overall time. The rider who has the lowest overall time will wear the jersey at the next stage. The cyclist who is awarded the jersey after the final stage is the overall winner of the race.
The first five riders to cross the finish line at each stage will score points that count toward the Points classification (20, 15, 10, 5 and 2 points in chronological order). The first three riders to cross the line are also awarded bonification seconds (15, 10, and 52 seconds in chronological order) which will count toward the overall classification. The rider who holds the most points will wear a special jersey.
A team classification is assessed by adding the time of each team's best three riders each day. The competition does not have its own jersey.[2]
Winners
| Year[3] | Winner Male | Winner Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Harald Maier (AUT) |
 Meg Carrigan (AUS) |
| 1996 | Harald Maier (AUT) |
Brigitte Kurka (AUT) |
| 1997 | Jaap Viergever (NED) |
Regina Stanger (AUT) |
| 1998 | Harald Maier (AUT) |
no entries |
| 1999 | Jaap Viergever (NED) |
no entries |
| 2000 |  Simon Apperloo (CAN) |
 Carrie Edwards (USA) |
| 2001 | Jaap Viergever (NED) |
.svg.png){kind=small} Mieke Deroo (BEL) |
| 2002 | Jaap Viergever (NED) |
Mieke Deroo (BEL) |
| 2003 |  Roland Stauder (ITA) |
Rosi King (AUS) |
| 2004 | Adam Hansen (AUS) |
Anita Waiss (AUT) |
| 2005 | Adam Hansen (AUS) |
Kim Proctor (AUS) |
| 2006 | Christoph Stevens (BEL) |
Dominique Angerer (AUT) |
| 2007 | Mauro Bettin (ITA) |
Michela Benzoni (ITA) |
| 2008 | Ondrej Fojtik (CZE) |
Karen Steurs (BEL) |
| 2009 |  Urs Huber (SUI) [4] |
Monique Zeldenrust (NED) |
| 2010 | Urs Huber (SUI) |
Abby McLennan (AUS) |
| 2011 | Jeroen Boelen (NED) |
Jessica Douglas (AUS) |
| 2012 | Ivan Rybařík (CZE) |
Kate Major (AUS) |
| 2013 | Mark Frendo (AUS) |
Liesbeth Hessens (BEL) |
| 2014 | Greg Saw (AUS) |
Imogen Smith (AUS) |
Winners by Nationality
| # of Victories | Country |
|---|---|
| 5 | Netherlands |
| 5 | Canada |
| 3 | Austria |
| 5 | Australia |
| 2 | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Italy | |
| Switzerland | |
| 1 | Belgium |