Crocodile Trophy 2011: Stage 1 Results

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The 2011 Croc Trophy peloton was lined up on a rainy first morning(Image credit: Crocodile Trophy)

It was a dramatic day in North Queensland. For two months, it hadn't rained in Cairns. And then today, on day 1 of the 17th Crocodile Trophy, not only did it start to rain, but torrential downpours lashed across the Cairns and Tablelands Regions. With riders battling nature's forces, Olympic Champion and last year's runner up Bart Brentjens had to give his race start a miss due to illness.

Urs Huber extended his sympathy for Bart at the start line stating that it was a shame for one of the favourites and draw cards of the event to disappear. Most riders, however, had other things on their minds before the start gun went of.

Despite the rain at the start on the Cairns Esplanade, there was still optimism. This year there would be less dust on the roads. There was indeed no dust, but mud, rivers of water as the riders climbed higher and higher into the Dinden National Park. It didn't stop the enthusiasm of the peloton.

For Jakob Steen-Petersen, the pace was not high enough, he accelerated right away on the first hill. Petersen became the first attacker of this Crocodile Trophy and managed to stay 2km in the front. Then the peloton - or what was left of it - caught him back. The Crocodile Trophy winner of the last two years, Urs Huber, was already in front. In his Swiss national champion's jersey, he stood out among his competitors; reinforcing that he was indeed the man to beat this year.

When, after 10km, the roads to Lake Morris continued to get steeper, Huber attacked. Only six riders were able to follow the Stöckli rider: Jeroen Boelen (Netherlands), the two Austrians Wolfgang Krenn as well as Josef Benedseder from Team Eybl, two Belgian riders Mike Mulkens and Kevin Hulsmans, as well as Geeni Yong Choi from Korea. In no time, the seven lead riders had one minute to the main group with former pro René Haselbacher.

They climbed through the lush rainforest, on the roads that had turned into rivers. They passed one car from the organization that had got stuck in the mud, they passed a second one, a third one. For the cars, it became a "mission impossible" to follow the course - the only vehicles able to keep up with the quick lead group pace where two quad bikes, which remained the only communication link between the race director and riders.

"At that point, we decided to neutralize the stage," said race organizer Gerhard Schönbacher. "Some cars ahead of the riders, which are responsible for marking the track, including mine, were stuck also. Without our guidance, the riders would not have been able to find their way to the finish in Lake Tinaroo. But more importantly, the support vehicles with food and drinks for the riders at the feeding stations, as well as the doctors were unable to follow the race track, and we didn't want to risk having the riders out on their own. The Crocodile Trophy is an adventure and that's what we got today, but I don't want to play with human lives."

Schönbacher, who was in the lead car, explained to the seven race leaders how to find their way to the finish, when they caught up to him and his truck that was stuck in the mud in the middle of Dinden National Park. They arrived at Lake Tinaroo following the originally planned track. The other 83 competitors were advised to take an alternative road on asphalt through the Atherton Tablelands. Longer, but easier and safer.