The southern hemisphere starts gearing up for racing with the start of the Crocodile Trophy today, a race covering 1,200km of Australia’s tropical north along a circuitous route between Mareeba and Cape Tribulation.
And lining up on the start is Dutch mountain biking legend Bart Brentjens. The former World and Olympic champion has touched down and is looking for a win in this legendary race.
“I’m really happy to be here and excited for the Crocodile Trophy,” Brentjens said. “I won my first World Cup here, I took the (World Cup series) leader’s blue jersey here also and I never gave it away.”
Brentjens is hoping to continue a tradition of Dutch success at the Crocodile Trophy. His countryman Jaap Viergever still holds the record for the most Crocodile Trophy victories.
“I won the (Netherlands) national marathon champi-onship last week, and this year the Crocodile Trophy has fitted perfectly into my training schedule,” Brentjens added.
But Brentjens won’t have it all his own way. Slovenian soldier Jure Robic, a four-time solo winner of the Race Across America, almost managed to sneak into Australia this evening beneath the radar.
Seriously injured in a race crash just a month ago, in which he sustained a broken collarbone and broken ribs, Robic was thought to be a definite non-starter until Crocodile Trophy organisers re-ceived a cryptic email just two days ago with the words ‘I’m coming’.
“Two days before I leave, I didn’t know if I could go on the plane, because the therapy was not working,” Robic said.
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