Facts about the Trophy
200 kilometre-long stages through scorching heat - those were the beginnings of the Crocodile Trophy. Everyone knows the pictures from the nineties: bikers dressed in neon colours chasing over dusty tracks. Although the organisers have greatly reduced the race days and stage lengths, the notorious stage race has lost none of its toughness.
The neighbourhood: You have to fly 32,000 kilometres to drive in a country where apparently half the animals are poisonous. The race itself takes place in Queensland - from Cairns to Port Douglas. The area is known for its trails, after all, the Cross Country World Championships were held there in 2017.
The stages: 657 kilometres, 10500 metres in altitude and many trails are on the programme. The whole thing is spread over eight stages, four of which are over 100 kilometres long. Only the last day is seemingly harmless at 30 kilometres, but the nastiness is in the race mode: it's a time trial.
The inventor
Austrian Gerhard Schönbacher came up with this insane tour 24 years ago. The three-time Tour de France participant created one of the first stage races in the world. Until the noughties, it was considered the toughest.
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