The Joyride Rookie Cup is returning to Shepparton for a second year this weekend, drawing the state’s mountain bike-mad thrill seekers to Mt Major’s trails for two days of white-knuckled action.
Last year was a big hit and this year could be even larger.
About 280 riders registered to head to Dookie in 2023 for the inaugural edition of the cup, with Mt Major hosting the second round of the youth-dedicated downhill series launched by elite rider Cooper Downey.
This time around, Dookie is the location for the fourth and final round.
Goulburn Valley Mountain Bike Club committee member Jo Jeffers expects a monster turnout when wheels spin over Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s the end of the series; it’s going to be pretty big,” she said.
“I think they’ve got the most entries that they’ve had because we’ve got the room at Shepp to have all the kids.”
Remarkably, the club had only formed mere months before hosting the Joyride Rookie Cup last year.
However, Jeffers mentioned the event was a hallmark moment on the GVMBC calendar, and the sport’s heartbeat in the region had only strengthened because of it.
Since then, Goulburn Valley locals have whetted their appetite for competition by entering the Victorian Downhill Series, another competitive mountain biking gauntlet that touches regional corners of the state.
Because of this, Goulburn Valley’s mountain biking scene is gathering speed.
And for good measure too — it’s got competition.
Shepparton has sported a strong BMX and cycling landscape for some time now, but according to Jeffers, the GVMBC has plans to make their root-laden, grit-splattered cousin a similarly popular option.
“There are a lot of other different streams of biking in Shepp, but the mountain biking is just getting up and going,” she said.
“Hosting the Rookie Cup here, getting a bit of exposure, we’ve got big plans to hopefully develop things out there a little bit more.
“They’re planning more trails, but the race track itself is ‘double black’, so it’s quite a tricky course.
“We want to develop some more flow trails that are easier to get to for beginner riders and intermediates, and then also get a pump track down the bottom just for a different style of jumps and stuff too.
“(We want to) open it up to lots of people to come out there, of all abilities to come ride.”
And so, as Victoria’s mountain biking talent prepares to charge headlong into the unknown, writing — and riding — their own coming-of-age story in dust and adrenaline, Jeffers had one message to sign off with.
“Just come and have a look, get amongst it — it’s a really good vibe and a really well run series,” she said.
“Being the last round in the series, too, it’s going to be pretty good.”
