The 2013 Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro EVENT PROGRAM containing all the logistical details such as schedule, course maps, stage information and all other race details can be downloaded from HERE. We encourage all riders to read it (twice!) prior to the event, and we will give you a printed copy at registration. (Either left click the link to download or right click and ‘save link as’ to your desktop. 28meg)

SCHEDULE – Where and When and How

Saturday May 11

Competitors arrive and airport shuttle operates

Sunday May 12

Competitors arrive and airport shuttle operates

Monday May 13

Tuesday May 14

Wednesday May 15

Thursday May 16

Friday May 17

Saturday May 18

Competitors depart / tourism.
Airport shuttle bus operates from Chifley Alice Springs Resort to the airport.

Sunday May 19

Competitors depart / tourism.
Airport shuttle bus operates from Chifley Alice Springs Resort to the airport.
 

COMPETITOR REGISTRATION

All riders must register in person between 12:00pm and 5:00pm on Sunday May 12th at the Event Centre at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort.

At registration you will receive:

• Number plate. Fix your personalised number plate to the front of your bike with the zip ties provided. Number plates cannot be trimmed or altered in any way and must remain on your bike for the duration of the event.
• Electronic timing band – to be worn around the ankle during each stage
• Event Hoodie
• Ticket to presentation dinner on Friday night (Additional tickets may be purchased for family and friends for $20)
• Sponsors information or product

Note: You do not need a MTBA licence or day licence to compete. We strongly encourage all riders to have the Cyclecover personal accident insurance policy available through the event website at the time of entry. Contact Rapid Ascent (ph 03 5261 5511) for more details if you would like to purchase a policy.

COMPETITOR BRIEFING

All riders are strongly encouraged to attend the competitors’ briefing at 5:30pm on Sunday May 12th at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort where final updates and information on the event will be given to all competitors

EVENT CENTRE (Chifley Alice Springs Resort)

An Event Centre will be set up at the official event hotel - the Chifley Alice Springs Resort and will be the social hub of the week. Whether you are staying at the Chifley or not, you are most welcome to come and enjoy the resort’s facilities - pool, bar, restaurant and of course the Event Centre that will be set up all week in their beautiful grounds.

• Sponsors’ displays and information with the opportunity to check out and purchase their products with the following specific displays set up:
• Schwalbe - who will have a full page of MTB tyres and tubes for sale, as well as lube, gloves, socks and some other MTB equipment.
• Kauri Sport - will be retailing a range of event merchandise including nicks and jerseys, MTB shirts, stubby holders and other items. Refer below.
• Ultimate Ride - the local bike shop will be set up to conduct repairs and maintenance on bikes and retail various bike components during the event. We encourage you to support this local shop for any work required over the weekend. All mechanic work will be charged at standard shop rates.

Also available will be:

• Printed results from each stage and general classification for the end of each day
• Start times for each rider for time trial legs
• Slide shows of photos from that day’s racing
• Interactive results screen so you can check out how you’re going during the race week

  

• Yummy lunches, evening meals and snacks all day every day. The Chifley has altered their menu to especially cater for the needs of cyclists and will have a range of healthy food options available throughout the event.
• Event Bar, swimming pool and beer garden – all part of the hotel but open to anyone involved with the event
• A bike wash facility where you can give your ride some love’n every day

BIKE SERVICING AND MECHANICAL REPAIRS

The #1 bike shop in Alice Springs - The Ultimate Ride - will be providing mechanical support and assistance to competitors during the race. They will have a temporary shop with mechanic set up in the Chifley Alice Springs Resort during certain (busy) times in the race schedule and will be able to assist you – all work being charged at normal mechanics rates. They will also be retailing a range of bike components and equipment from the Chifley.

If you have a major mechanical or need something specific you may need to visit their permanent retail outlet at Unit 2 / 30 Stuart Highway (just north of Anzac Hill on the left hand side of the road next to Top Gear ARB) Phone: 08 89537297. Please say thanks to the team for their ongoing support (and trail building) that helps make this event a success.
 

STAGE PRESENTATIONS

Presentations for each stage will be held as listed in the details below. We encourage all riders to attend the stage presentations as we’ll be recounting a few stories from the day’s racing, and handing out plenty of spot prizes that anyone can win. We will also be awarding a prize to the stage winners in each category and will present the prestigious Yellow Leader’s Jerseys to the overall leading male and female by general classification that they will wear for the following day’s racing.

• Subway Mt Gillen Stage 1 and Ingkerreke Commercial Stage 2 - Monday 13th May 7:30pm at the Lasseters Hitel Casino - Juicy Rump Bar
• Lasseters Hotel Casino Stage 3 - Tuesday 14th May 6:00pm at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort
• NT Major Events Stage 4 - Wednesday 15th May – held as part of the mid-event Dinner at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort from 7:00pm.
• SchwalbeStage 5 - Thursday 16th May 6:00pm at the Alice Springs Golf Club (immediately before the start of Stage 6)
• Cyclecover Stage 6 - Friday 17th May 8:30am at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort (immediately before the start of Stage 7)
• Chifley Alice Springs Resort Stage 7 - Friday 18th May from 5:00pm with the main event presentations at venue TBA.

OFFICIAL EVENT FUNCTIONS:

Competitor briefing and official welcome - 5:30pm Sunday May 12th at The Chifley Alice Springs Resort.
We will welcome all riders to the event and conduct an event briefing on Sunday night after registration. Meet the Rapid Ascent team, hear a briefing from the medical team, chat to a few other riders and learn more on what you’ve got in store over the next 5 days in the Red Centre. The Chifley Alice Springs Resort bar and restaurant will also be open for meals and drinks during and after these presentations which makes a great way to start fuelling up for the week ahead.

Mid event Dinner – from 7:00pm Wednesday May 15th at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort.
Join us for a mid event Dinner at the conclusion of the epic NT Major Events Stage 4 on the lawn at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort on Wednesday night. The Chifley is pulling together the mother-of-all-buffets with more carbohydrates than all the pasta in Italy for  approx $20 a head. We encourage everyone to purchase your ticket during registration on Sunday afternoon to assist catering. We will also present the stage winners for Stage 4 during the evening.

Final Event Presentation Function
The final presentation function will be held between 5:00pm and 8:00pm on Friday May 17th at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort. This is a terrific opportunity to celebrate the end of a massive week of riding by gathering together for a final send off.

The function will take a different format to previous years and be a stand-up event around the pool and adjoining function room at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort. There will be some live music with platter style catering with noodle boxes and other yummy finger food handed around. We will present category and overall winners with their trophies and congratulate everyone on their MTB efforts during the week.

Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro competitors receive a ticket to the final event presentations when you register as part of the entry fee and we will also be selling additional tickets for family members and supporters at registration on Sunday May 12th for $20 each. (Please purchase any additional tickets at registration on Sunday to assist catering).

COMPETITORS SERVICES

Being mountain bikers and adventure racers ourselves, we know that sometimes it’s not quite as easy as it seems to compete in a race, so we’ve come up with the following competitor services to make your participation in the event as easy, hassle free and fun as possible.

Airport Shuttles

We will provide a shuttle bus service to pick people up from the Alice Springs airport, meeting all flights that arrive on Saturday May 12th and Sunday May 13th and will take you and your equipment to the Chifley Alice Springs Resort. Please look for the Rapid Ascent feather flags at the airport. We will only be dropping people at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort and Lasseters Casino and unfortunately cannot drop people off at other locations around town.

We will also provide a shuttle back to the airport on Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th. We will record your flight departure times at registration and will then post a schedule for departures on the event notice board during the week. The shuttles will only depart from the Chifley Alice Springs Resort, so if you are staying elsewhere then you will need to get yourself and your equipment to the Chifley or the airport independently.

Clothing transport:

As many stage start locations are different to the finish locations we will provide a clothing transport service and take your clothing from one to the other while you’re racing. Just drop your clothing off to us at the race info marquee at the start line and then collect it from the same tent at the finish… easy-peasie!

But there are some pointers to make this easy for you and for us:
Just like back in our school days – please label all your clothing with name and mobile number.(do this now!)
Please put all your clothing in a bag with your name, race number and mobile number on it. This makes it easier to transport and easier to find again at the finish line.
Whilst we will try our very best, we accept no responsibility for any items that may be lost .We recommend that you do not give us any valuables.

Bottle deposits

The water point locations for each stage are listed in the stage descriptions above. All water points will have water and Torq electrolyte available for you to fill up your water bottles and drinking system bladders, but we will also transfer your own water bottles to these locations so you can have your own ‘special formula’ whilst out on the track.

Bottles for transport to each water point need to be organised as follows:

• Bottles will need to be delivered to the event officials at the stage presentations the day before – refer to schedule below.
• All bottles must be very clearly marked with your race number written around the top.
• Bottles will then be placed in numerical order at the water point for quick collection.
• Empty bottles can be collected from that stage’s presentations – ready for you to refill and then give them back to us for the next stage.

Bottles for:

1. Subway Mt Gillen Stage 1 - must be delivered to us at the race briefing at 5:30pm on Sunday May 12th at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort.
2. Ingkerreke Commercial Stage 2 - no water points so no bottles transferred
3. Lasseters Hotel Casino Stage 3 - must be delivered to us at the stage presentations at 7:30pm on Monday 13th May at The Lasseters Hotel Casino 
4. NT Major Events Stage 4 - must be delivered to us at the stage presentations at 6:00pm on Tuesday 14th May at the Chifley Alice Springs Resort
5. Southern Cross Television Stage 5 - no water points so no bottles transferred
6. Cyclecover Stage 6 - no water points so no bottles transferred
7. Chifley Alice Springs Resort Stage 7 - must be delivered to us at the stage presentations 5:30pm on Thursday 17th May at the Alice Springs Golf Club.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Events like this can only operate with the assistance of a number of volunteers to help us get things organized and under way so you as competitors have the best possible event. Volunteering is also a great way to be involved with and enjoy the spirit of the event without having to actually ever turn a pedal or raise (much of) a sweat! So please suggest to any of your family members, partners or friends who are accompanying you during the event at Alice Springs that we’d greatly appreciate any time they could spare to give us a hand be it for 2 hrs or 2 days… This could vary from helping at registration on Sunday, recording times at a finish line for a few hours or maybe manning a remote water point for half a day… either way we’d be grateful for any assistance for any length of time. We’ll fix them up with lunch on the day, an event t-shirt and a few other goodies.

Please contact Sam Maffett at Rapid Ascent if you or your colleagues are interested (sam@rapidascent.com.au or 0400 001 786)

The 2013 Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro EVENT PROGRAM containing all the logistical details such as schedule, course maps, stage information and all other race details can be downloaded from HERE. We encourage all riders to read it (twice!) prior to the event, and we will give you a printed copy at registration. (Either left click the link to download or right click and ‘save link as’ to your desktop. 28meg)

Alice Springs climate averages for May

The climate in Alice Springs for the month of May is not nearly as hot as you'd imagine and is ideally suited to mountain biking with cool mornings warming up to approximately 25 degrees in the middle of the day and then cooling off in the evenings. It is likely to feel quite cool to cold in the morning so make sure you bring a warm layer or two, but be ready to strip off as the day warms up (cycling arm and leg warmers ideal).

• Average daily max 25 degC in the shade
• Mean 9am temp 16 degC in the shade
• Average night min 8.3 degC
• Average Rainy days 3.1
• Average Cloudy days 7.6
• Ave sunrise 7:00 am
• Ave Sunset 6:00 pm

Also be wary of sunburn, you will likely be outside in the sun for most of the day. There is not a lot of shade around so make sure you put sun-screen on before you head out.

But wait there's more – tourism information
There is a heck of a lot to do around Alice Springs beyond just riding bikes so why not plan to arrive a couple of days early and enjoy some of the sites, or hang around for a few days afterwards and race on down to Ayers Rock to take it all in.

There are also plenty of competitors who are bringing their husbands / wives / families with them who think its a great way to combine a biking holiday for you with a relaxing touristy holiday for them. Racing on 3 of the 5 days should be finished by about lunch time which leaves time to go and do something together.
Recommended reading would be the NT Tourism website to get a few ideas: http://en.travelnt.com/

Or the Central Australian Tourism Industry Association who are based in Alice Springs and can make all range of bookings and arrangements for you:
http://www.centralaustraliantourism.com/