Mountain biking at Sydney 2000

Homebush Bay

Stadium Australia in the background, where a world record crowd of 107,042 watched the Wallabies beat the All-Blacks 22-7 at the Tri-Nations Championship.
Photo by K Lippmann, copyright A. Adnan

Homebush Bay—site of the Sydney Olympics. A former industrial wasteland and dumpsite, it has been impressively transformed into a complex of steel, glass and concrete stadia that will hold the various sport events at the Olympics. Most notable was the tennis stadium, built from tensioned, self-supporting seating structures requiring no internal support columns that may obscure the view of spectators.

The rehabilitation of the area—though far from complete, as the former dumpsite will continue to leach gasses and chemicals into the environment—has made significant progress: I saw a black swan having a bit of R&R at one of the water channels in the Homebush complex. Apparently black swans are picky about where they rest and recreate, and so their presence is indicative of a high water quality in that area (or of a not very discerning swan).

Fairfield

The cross-country mountain biking event (won in Atlanta 96 by Bart Brentjens and Paola Pezzo) will be held in Fairfield city farm, about half-an-hour's drive away from the central business district of Sydney. The circuit is about 6km long and loops up and down the face of a hill overlooking the farm.

Into the field and around the gum tree The course starts at the foothill on grazing land, winds its way into loose and rocky non-arable bushland, drops into a swampy valley—pretty in spring with wildflowers—before climbing up and over the hill, and finally dropping down into start finish area again. A very characterful course, with changes in pace and scenery—much like a good bash, only shorter and with more sheep.

As can be expected, the dry and rocky nature of the bushland makes for technical and very exciting riding. The cruces of the course are located at two sections: the Cauldron and God's Gate, although there are numerous drop-offs and off-camber sections littered about the course that beckon the coming together of flesh, skin and dirt.

The steps at the Cauldron

Hanging out the back at the Cauldron
Photo by K Lippmann, copyright A. Adnan

The Cauldron is a series of rocky steps sandwiched between 2 moderate switchbacks, the first of which ends in a drop-off, which makes picking a line through the rocks a bit hit and miss. God's Gate is a steep drop that is preceded by a long flat section on the ridge of the hill. Not difficult in itself, but in a race you ought to be entering into the singletrack section at a rapid clip. Wrong line, and you will take the most direct route downhill.

A substantial proportion of the course is singletrack, which will satisfy the singletrack hounds. It is by no means a ride of epic proportions—more like a technical pootle if you have half a day to spare in Sydney. I would heartily recommend riding the course if you had the opportunity, and not merely because you will be able to say "been there done that" when the Olympics comes around. No, it is a short but excellently laid out course that most riders will find challenging. Suffice to say that if I were its designer, I would probably be suffering from some muscle ailment from having patted myself on the back once too often.

Animals

The farm can be a fun area for kids, as they can get to see (and smell) farm animals close-up. At left, a scruffy looking Joey being patted by an equally scruffy Joe. While at the top of the ridge, we briefly interrupted a monitor lizard having its evening bask. The 5-foot fellow clambered up this eucalyptus with the help of some impressive looking claws. They make good eating, according to Konrad. Monitor lizards are eaten in Malaysia too: curried, although I have not eaten any. The water monitor (the green one with the speckled yellow markings), I am reliably told, is not eaten because its meat is tough.

Konrad, hoisting Seven overhead

Konrad. At the background on the left, Fairfield City Farm. The track starts from the farm, climbs up onto the hill on the right, continues on the ridge, before dropping back into the farm.
A. Adnan

How to get there

At the time of writing (13 September 1999) the course had not yet been opened to the public. I gained access through Bushsports a tour company that has been awarded the contract to run tours into the Homebush Olympics complex. It is run by Konrad Lippmann, whose thoughtful and informative commentary I appreciated.

Links

The World Cup series was held at Fairfield in April 1999. This site in Mountainzone has a decent gallery of pictures, including one of Gunn-Rita Dahle riding down the Cauldron.

Mountain Biking in Australia and New Zealand is a good place to start if you are planning an Australasian trip.