Welcome to Rapid Ascent
Regarded as Australia’s leading Adventure Sports Event Management company, Rapid Ascent organises off-road, adventure and niche sports events across Australia ranging from mass participation adventure races (the world’s largest!) to boutique mountain bike festivals.
Chris Hamilton: Otway Odyssey to the Tour De France. Moments after Chris Hamilton won the 2016 Otway Odyssey MTB Marathon I recall our event MC Norm Douglas saying, “…this will be the last time we’ll see this young man on a mountain bike, he’ll ride the Tour De France one day...”
Whilst Norm knows a lot more about cycling and cyclists that I do, I thought that was a pretty bold prediction but now, in 2022, he’s been proved right. Team DSM has selected Hamilton for their TdF team and he’s currently pushing the pedals with the best in the world around the roads of France.
This isn’t his first grand tour start having contested the Giro five times and the Vuelta twice, this is his first start in the grandest tour of them all. In fact it was very grounding to hear his very matter of fact summary of his Tour experience so far with this short interview on SBS a couple of days ago: www.sbs.com.au/sport/video/hamilton-overwhelmed-by-the-tour-experience/lt6h1dpvh
So there you have it, whilst we can’t say that every Otway Odyssey rider will make it to The Tour its nice to know it has provided a pathway for some of them! Well done Chris.
The 2023 Otway Odyssey will be held on 25th February at Forrest in VIC.
Did Jack Haig feature in the results that year as well?
To be a solo runner in our new Great Southern Stage Run requires an extra level of commitment. Racing 200km of single track over 3 days will test even the most determined runner so we're going to profile each solo runner between now and race day to see what makes them tick. Here is 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 from Perth who's going solo.
What inspires you to run
𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘵. 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 - 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 & 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.
𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯.
What attracts you to the Great Southern Stage Run?
𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘜𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘢 at 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 2019, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 & 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘙𝘜𝘔 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 allows you to 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
How do you manage training?
T𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 & 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 (𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳) 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴.
𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 & 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 & 𝘮𝘺 3 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.
What are you looking forward to?
A𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦/𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.
www.GreatSouthernStageRun.com.au
Good luck to all these amazing athletes!
10 x 100km Surf Coast Century for Michael Severin in 2022! First tackling the event in 2013, Michael will line up for his 10th solo race in a row on 17th September having finished 9 consecutive 100km races over the last 9 years.
He’s told us that the greatest thing about the event is the people he has met along the way, and exploring his own mental state.
“The greatest thing about the Century is the exploration of your own limits; to find out how far you can go and how much body and mind can achieve. If you are in the right mental state, then everything is possible!”
“Equally fulfilling is the quality of connections you can make with fellow runners - some might only last for a few hours on race day, and others can persist for many years”
When asked why he keeps coming back to run 100km, Severin said it’s not just the diverse course in its’ spectacular environment, but more so the memories and lifelong friends he has made.
“In the later stages of the race, you become vulnerable, stripped down to your core and when you encounter the right person, you can easily engage in deep, meaningful conversations while you struggle together towards the finish.”
Michael moved to Highton in Geelong from the UK in 2012 and is often found training through the Anglesea heathland and Ironbark Basin; as well as along the Barwon River in Geelong.
He said it’s been a long journey over the years from when he first signed up to run in 2013, clocking a time of 15 hours, 28 minutes and 39 seconds.
“My 10th ‘anniversary’ will hold special memories as it has been a long journey. I’m grateful that I’m still healthy and fit enough to compete in the event; and if the conditions are good, I’d like to aim for a sub 14-hour finish that has eluded me so far.”
We congratulate Michael on his accomplishments and commitment to the event - we can't wait to support you once again on 17th September 2022. Full story here: bit.ly/3yfiR1z
Its 3 years since we raced our mountain bikes on the hallowed trails at Alice Springs - and a bit has happened up there in this time.
Here's a recap of what's been fresh at this desert trail oasis and why we're itching to get back this August. Why not escape winter and join us.
flowmountainbike.com/features/whats-new-in-alice-springs/
The Redback MTB Stage Race : 18 - 21 August, 2022.
Sunsets, red dirt and singletrack | What's new in Alice Springs? | Flow Mountain Bike
flowmountainbike.com
It's been a while since we've set sail for the Alice, so we caught up with some of our friends in the Northern Territory to get the 411.
If you're not riding gravel then you're missing a great part of what cycling has to offer.
Here's a great article on the evolution of Gravel Riding in Australia with explanation of where it came from and why it is here to stay.
www.cyclingnews.com/features/hitting-the-sweet-spot-of-gravel-race-growth-in-australia/
