Survival

 Our Survival Tips

  • Nutrition -
    The Long course will take you between 4.5 and 6.5 hours to complete, think about eating and drinking regularly. The great tasting range from SiS Nutrition is an ideal way to achieve this. They even have a nutrition guide that outlines how much you will need for the level of energy expenditure and can be found HERE. Getting this right will be critical to your survival.

  • Neutral Aid Stations -
    We encourage riders to be self-sufficient. We will have aid stations at several spots on both courses. They are Aid stations and not feed stations. They will only have water, bananas, and soft drinks. Treat them as a back up to your nutrition plan if you find yourself having a bad day.
    They are located at the following marshal points:

    • 37KM - Ringarooma Long course/Short Course Junction - ROLL Cycle Mechanics on site.

    • 53km - Ralph Falls car park.

    • 81 km - Mount Victoria Carpark.

  • Long Course Drop bags -
    Drop bags with specific nutrition or preprepared water bottles can be dropped off at registration and will be available for you at the Mount Victoria Aid Station. Please have your full name and contact number on your bag.

  • Hunt in a pack -
    Ever watched the Tour de France and wondered why they all rode in a big bunch? It is because the energy savings are significant. This image gives you an idea of the amount of relative effort. So find a few buddies and take turns to ride on the front or take a rest.

  • Layers -
    Not only is it about nutrition, it is important that you keep an eye to your body temperature. Stay as dry as you can.

  • Tyre Pressures -
    Too high a tyre pressure will leave you bouncing around and being beat-up on the rougher surfaces, and too low a pressure exposes you to pinch flats. There is no hard or fast rule on pressure, it is very individual to weight, tyre volume, rim width and riding style. Generally speaking you want to run as low as you can manage without pinch flatting. On a gravel bike running 42mm’s with a 75kg rider this may be about 28 psi in the front and 32-34 psi in the rear. 

  • Drink! -
    Cool winter temperatures will mean you don’t feel like drinking, but you will loose a lot of fluid purely through respiration even if you are not sweating. Keep sipping that water bottle!

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IF YOU ARE HAVING A BAD DAY

This is the Devils Cardigan.

You will be riding in the middle of the Tasmanian winter and at times, at altitude. We have course marshals braving the elements for your safety. If you have an accident, mechanical or need to withdraw. Please procede best you can to the closest marshal and stay with them till the sweep vehicle passes.

In areas of no phone reception, they will have Satelite phones on them for use in an emergency.
Please be aware, your nearest marshall might be just behind you.

Please do not leave the course until you can spoken to a course marshal and we stress you communicate your intentions to race HQ as soon as possible.