2023 Info Kit Now Live!

Welcome to the second edition of the Sunday Creek Classic!

DOWNLOAD THE 2023 INFO KIT HERE

Looks like we’re finally on after a few false starts last year! For all those that have signed up for the first time, yes, Mt Buggery is very real. The first time you travel over it and through the rolling hills into Jimna you know it’s a special place and begging to be cycled. So with the increasing popularity of gravel bikes and bike packing culture we’re very excited to see this event happening again!

This event has been inspired by the great gravel events around the world, by European classics that feature wild weather and brutal courses and more recent events in America like Barry-Roubaix, Unbound and the Belgian Waffle Ride.

Starting in the sleepy farming town of Kenilworth, the 120km, almost entirely gravel route, heads towards Kandanga and Bella Creek and then west to Jimna before returning via Sunday Creek Road to Kenilworth. The route takes in everything from dry eucalyptus forests, majestic hoop pine forestry, sub-tropical rainforest forest and open cattle grazing country. And with 3,000 meters of climbing including the notorious climb to Mt Buggery, this event is one of the toughest one day gravel events on the Australian calendar.

It’s going to be tough, but nothing great comes without pushing yourself beyond what you believe is possible.

Personally, the goal of the event is two fold – firstly, I love Kenilworth and believe the area is an underrated adventure playground. As they grow, events like the Sunday Creek Classic can have a real positive impact on small town economies like Kenilworth.

The second goal is to build an event that becomes a must-do classic on the Australian cycling calendar. It will take time but I believe that region and the course have the makings of something that can become truely great.

So on behalf of the team, thank you for entering. See you out there!

Chris Dixon
RACE DIRECTOR

IMPORTANT: SUNDAY CREEK CLASSIC EVENT UPDATE 22 MAY 2022

Due to significant damage to roads and landslides from the recent unseasonably heavy rain, HQ Plantations (managers of the State Forestry in Kenilworth) have informed us that the State Forests around Kenilworth are closed and that the Sunday Creek Classic cannot proceed as planned. We have spent the last few days exploring alternative options, but due road closures, the scale of the damage and number of roads affected, we are not confident we could deliver a high quality, safe and fun cycling event in the time frame.

The event will instead be scheduled for a date later in the year pending HQ Plantations, Council and National Parks approvals. We will announce this date in the next couple of days but are exploring August and September options.

If for any reason participants can’t make the new date, entries will be fully credited to the next Sunday Creek Classic in 2023 or another Wild & Co event (Adventure Racing anyone?).

From our side, the course is set, we’ve got boxes of gear, timing systems and race packs ready….we just need a course to race on! With the extra time, please keep training, stay safe and looking forward to seeing you in a few months time!

And maybe with this extra time we can add some more goodies to the race 🤔.

Kind Regards,

Chris Dixon

Wild&Co
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The Sunday Creek Classic – The Most Challenging Single Day Ride in Australia

Ryan Cavanagh, winner of the 120km

When you call a new ride a ‘classic’ you’d better have something special to back it up, and adventure sports organisers Wild & Co definitely delivered with the inaugural Sunday Creek Classic. It was a day which the first riders to tackle the course won’t forget in a hurry.

Held out of Kenilworth, Queensland, the new race promised a ‘very dirty Gran Fondo’ and Race Director Chris Dixon left no one in any doubt of what was to come.  “Expect this to be tough – this event is only for those who can race and complete a hard core challenge. There will be minimal support during large sections of the event.”

The race offered two courses, a 120km route with 3000m of climb, and a 50km option with 1500m of climbing, both designed to test riders’ fitness, endurance, mental strength and spirit of adventure.

The 65 riders who turned out for the first ride of the course on Saturday May 29th were warmly welcomed to Kenilworth, and many headed to its famous bakery to fuel up before setting off under clear blue skies for the ride of a lifetime.

They discovered a course with mile after mile of amazing high country gravel roads, some brutal hills that forced them out of the saddle, rolling grazing lands, and a variety of terrain from sub tropical rainforest to dry eucalyptus. It also included the steep climb of the memorably named ‘Mount Buggery’, a name the riders came to appreciate!

One indication of the uncompromising challenge of the Sunday Creek Classic was that the last riders back to Kenilworth were Paul and Melanie Ewing, who recorded a time of exactly 12 hours for the 120km course, while Stephen Finch was on the 50km route for almost 8 hours.  They got the maximum value for their entry fee and enjoyed the scenery to the max!

The winners found it just as challenging, despite their strong racing and competitive pedigree.  The male 120km winner was Ryan Cavanagh in 5.04.28, while the female winner was Lizzie Hepple in 8.29.34.

Both were well clear of any challengers, which isn’t surprising.  Hepple is an ex-Olympic rider who placed 3rd in the women’s Tour de France and competed at National level in triathlon, while Cavanagh has a track record of international tour wins with the St. George Continental Cycling Team.

“The Sunday Creek Classic was without a doubt one of the single hardest one-day courses I have ever ridden!”

— Ryan Cavanagh

Even so Cavanagh said, “The Sunday Creek Classic was without a doubt one of the single hardest one-day courses I have ever ridden!

“The ultra-steep climbs were a new challenge for me. Having never had the opportunity to race on such terrain before, it was a completely new experience for me. The fact that walking seemed the only option on some uphills really turned this ride into a challenge of more than just bike fitness.  It was a real mental fight at some points.

“I was certainly glad to have a XC MTB on many of the up or downhill sections. This was made immediately apparent on the first downhill where a gap formed to the other riders behind me.  At that point I just focused on not exerting myself too much, too early, before the real physical testing point of Mt. Buggery. I was trying to keep a solid consistent pace for the entire course. 

“The scenery and views surrounding Kenilworth were truly spectacular and definitely helped take my mind off the suffering.

“All in all Sunday Creek Classic was an epic event that I hope grows in the next years to become a staple in the racing calendar for any gravel/MTB rider that wants to really test themselves.”

After her competitive career Hepple took up cycling again for fun in 2013, but having recently acquired a gravel bike, the challenge of the Sunday Creek Classic was irresistible.

Liz Hepple pushing through the rolling hills

“I love the Kenilworth countryside but have only seen it from bitumen roads so was very excited about riding the area off-road. I knew it would be tough so I really focused on getting my fitness and skills up over the last 2 months.

“As a major challenge - it exceeded expectations! The beginning, middle and final 10kms were beyond my wildest dreams, I mean nightmares! I can’t say those bits were really enjoyable, but I told myself, ‘It’s all part of the adventure’ and to suck it up, and I felt proud to get through it physically and mentally.

“The other 100kms of ‘normal’, but still quite challenging, and incredibly scenic gravel roads, I enjoyed every moment. Honestly, it was so much fun being in the fresh air, with beautiful but changing vistas.  I loved the brilliant green, blue and gravel colours, and the support crews at the checkpoints were fantastic.  I met a few old friends at the event and made new ones. 

“I’ll keep working on my gravel bike skills, and ‘hike-a-bike’ fitness, so I can come back next year and do it all again!”

The overall winners in the 50km race were Chris Collins (3.34.42) and Veronica Lebedev (4.12.00), but really every competitor in this inaugural race was a winner.

In years to come they’ll have bragging rights that they rode the first Sunday Creek Classic, a ride which is going to become the pinnacle of achievement for adventure riders across the country in the years to come.

The course featured gravel roads, fire trails, hike-a-bike and a few short technical sections.