Race to the Rock Preview

And they're off

Battling the cold in Tasmania

Sarah Hammond reaches Devonport first

NorthSouth R2TR Video #1

All Aboard the 'Full-Course' Express

The sand beckons

We have a race on our hands!

1200km to go for Sarah Hammond

Hitting help.

The first Saturday in September is fast approaching and that means the Race to the Rock is about to kick off.

The Race to the Rock is a mostly off road unsupported event that finishes at Uluru (formerly known as Ayres Rock). The Race is 'instigated' by Jesse Carlson, an experienced racer who has finished 2nd in the Tour Divide and won the Trans Am bike race. As such, it's one of the toughest races out there. 

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjIlFs7Fu1i/?taken-by=jessecarlsson" ]]

Race to the Rock is enjoying its third edition in 2018, and this year begins in Cockle Creek in the south of Tasmania. The start line is a 50km ride from the nearest settlement so riders will have to either ride out on the morning of the race or carry enough supplies to camp overnight. Riders must then ride 510km north through Tasmania, before catching the ferry to Melbourne and resuming their ride on the mainland. The only catch is that the last weekly ferry is Sunday night, so if anyone misses it they will have to sort their own way to Melbourne, mostly likely involving a long ride to an airport to catch a flight.

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm9ZEAahDAh/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]

This sets the tone quite nicely for the event: you are very much on your own. There is no media car, there are no checkpoints, and there are very few resupply points. Jesse actively tries to put off people from racing this event, such is the severe nature of it, which is perhaps a first for a race instigator, but considering what's required of participants to make it to the finish, it perhaps shouldn't come as much of a surprise. 

Once on the mainland, the real race begins. Riding into the centre of Australia has its challenges, including heat, sand and few resupply points. Some unserviced sectors of the route are over 300km, often in very loose sand. Riders will need to be able to carry a few day’s worth of water to survive in these areas, and help will not be available if they do get themselves into difficulty. Thanks to the Race to the Rock team, they have been warned.

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmh3gFmhemS/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]

The field of riders will be very small, and we won’t find out exactly who will be present until the start on Saturday, although we understand there will be about ten riders participating this year. The race starts at 06:22am local time, so keep your eyes on Dotwatcher.cc for all the race news from then.


Gear geeks rejoice: Here's a look at some of the bike setups from the start in Cockle Creek. With such varied terrain and weather conditions in store for this year's race, gear and setup choice will be paramount to success (or a finish). What sort of setup would you run in an event like this? Let us know in the Dotwatcher Chat (click the tab above, or head to the forum [here](https://community.dotwatcher.cc/t/greetings/24)).

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnIoed7BCEc/?" ]]

Start line setups

The 2018 Race to the Rock is underway! 

Riders departed Cockle Creek, Tasmania, at 06:22am this morning, and are now making their way across the island state in a 510km sprint. Why sprint? Because there's a ferry to catch across the Bass Strait - and those who want to remain at the front of the race for the main section of route (from Melbourne to Uluru) will need to be at the port for the Sunday night ferry!

The race is very much on...

The Race to the Rock began at 6:22am local time in Cockle Bay under heavy skies and rain. This race is set to see extremes of temperature as Tasmania is renowned for cold and wet conditions. It is also winter in the Southern Hemisphere so temperatures are only just above freezing.

Sarah Hammond took an early lead although the cold no doubt took its toll on her and the rest of the small field. The Ouse pub, in the town of Ouse, did good business on this bleak Saturday night with all of the riders stopping for food and warmth. The heaters were on full blast as riders tried to get warm and dry out their kit.

![Screen Shot 2018-09-01 at 19.46.33](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1WoYT4bQacsEgYA6KiIYu6/b6ac94addd6ab8343179d98149902dac/Screen_Shot_2018-09-01_at_19.46.33.png)

Sarah Hammond was the first to leave Ouse and head up into the hills where temperatures were expected to fall below freezing. Meanwhile Emma Flukes arrived in Ouse after Sarah had left, but opted for a quick stop before heading out in pursuit.  Both Sarah and Emma are now staying in the town of Waddamana for the night. There is only one ferry departing Tasmania in the next few days which leaves the town of Devonport at 7:30pm Sunday. That leaves 200km for them to cover in time to make the Ferry. 

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnKfIBYhKpo/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]

Meanwhile the rest of the field have all opted to stay overnight in Ouse and the small settlement of Maydena, at this stage catching the Sunday night ferry to the main land is looking light it could be a tall order given the conditions.


Sarah Hammond was the first to complete the initial Tasmania stretch of this year’s Race to the Rock.  She pulled into Devonport at 11:33pm after battling through snow and freezing temperatures. However, the last ferry of the week departed at 7:30pm, so she will now need to seek alternative transport to Melbourne.

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnOgvJXhIkZ/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]


Sarah and Emma Flukes enjoyed a close fought battle across the central plateau of Tasmania. At one point in the first night of the race Emma took the lead as Sarah enjoyed a sub-zero bivvi. The remaining route to Devonport proved particularly tricky though, with some long sections of hike a bike, and Sarah managed to pull away.

Four riders have now made it to Devonport; Sarah, Emma, Matt Hart and Adam Lana. For now the race is paused, although the clock still ticks, while the riders try and arrange their transfer to the mainland. Will all four riders manage to get on the same flight to the mainland?

The Race to the Rock is one of the toughest physical challenges but the next day is also going to challenge the logistical skills of the riders. They need to book flights, pack bikes and recover the best they can before they hit Melbourne. 

Stay tuned to see who makes it to the mainland first!


A short recap of what happened, and when, for the crossing of the Bass Strait...and what it means for the race situation on the ground.

__Sunday 2nd September__

- Sarah Hammond arrives Davenport (Tasmania): 23:44

__Monday 3rd September__

- Sarah leaves Davenport: 00:30

- Emma Flukes arrives Davenport: 01:50
- Adam Lana arrives Davenport: 02:50
- Matt Hart arrives Davenport: 04:00 (Entree Course only - will not be continuing from Melbourne)

- Mitchell Luke leaves Melbourne: 07:30 (after transiting from Ouse, Tasmania. Can be discounted from the race as a result, and has pre-stated he will be leaving the route at Renmark).
- Sarah leaves Melbourne: 09:45
- Adam leaves Melbourne: 10:30


That leaves Sarah Hammond and Adam Lana as the only two Full Course riders active on the mainland. After a strong ride through Tasmania, and arriving in Davenport before Adam, there is a question mark over Emma Flukes' crossing - or apparent lack of it so far. We hope she's ok.

This is the nature of dotwatching though, and our questions will eventually be answered! Keep watching to see when Emma Flukes, and the remaining Full-Course riders, join Sarah and Adam in the race to Uluru. 

Bass Strait 'Commute' Time Log

Time doesn't stop for mechanicals. Luckily for Adam Lana though, he was able to find a bike shop and get himself back on the road without too much delay after his bike was damaged in the transit over from Tasmania. 

Adam is now 32km behind race leader Sarah Hammond as the two head through Lerderberg State National Park north of Melbourne. 

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnP_oybBK1C/?taken-by=commutercycles" ]]

The people over at [NorthSouth apparel](https://northsouth.cc/) are on the ground in Australia, documenting the 2018 Race to the Rock, and bringing us all closer to the action. 

In this first video edit, we're introduced to some of the main protagonists of the race so far, and get a real insight into the difficulty of the winter conditions that beset the Tasmanian portion of the route over the weekend.

(Click right when the video stops to watch the second half of it)

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnPaCXsn19A/?taken-by=northsouth" ]]

As the 2018 Race to the Rock rolls into its 4th day, five riders have made it to the mainland, and have departed Melbourne on the Full Course route to Uluru. At this stage, with every other rider that started the race having either scratched, or been inactive for over 24 hours, we can assume that no more riders will be joining them.

At 06:45 this morning, Emma Flukes, Erinn Klein, and Nick Skarajew (who is riding a singlespeed) all arrived on the ferry from Tasmania, having chosen to forgo the flight to Melbourne in the aid of a few hours' extra rest. 

Emma and Nick wasted no time in picking up the route outside Melbourne town hall, while Erinn chose to head to a hotel for a few more hours sleep after the overnight ferry. At 19:15 local time, all three riders can now be found are now racing north through the rugged terrain of Victoria, with Erinn trailing Emma and Nick by about 50km. 

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnR8_oXBBh9/?taken-by=ogaram" ]]

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnSq2_zh_aN/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]

At the head of the race, about 150km ahead of the chasing trio of Emma, Erinn and Nick, things are equally as tight. Sarah Hammond leads Adam Lana by a little more than 20km as the pair head north towards the Murray River, ever deeper into the race, and into the wild interior of Australia. 

Mitchell Luke, who is ahead of everyone on the route, is no longer part of the race, and will be leaving the route at Renmark. Meanwhile Haydn Bevan, who also arrived in Melbourne this morning, has unfortunately had to pull out due to injury.

Keep watching the dots, and come back soon to check the progress of our 5 remaining Full Course riders.



Day 6 of the Race to the Rock and Sarah Hammond maintains her lead. Adam Lana sits in second position around 120km behind. Riding since Melbourne has been relatively straightforward so far, with a few stretches of rocky trail providing the only stretches of harder riding.

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnVI8S3B-eU/?taken-by=racetotherock" ]]

However, Sarah is about the hit a long sandy section of the course. Sand will mean the riders will be on and off the bikes continually. Deep sand is almost impossible to ride and very energy inefficient. The riders will have to take into consideration that average speed will be halved at least and distanced that they were covering with ease of the past few days will be a struggle. Extra food and water will need to be carried and careful attention paid to resupply points.

The biggest challenge will be the mental hit of spending lots of energy for very little reward in terms of distance covered. This is the true test of the ultra-distance cyclist and over the next few days we will see who is motivated the most.


Race To The Rock is a 3,500km off-road epic held annually in the wilds of the Australian Outback. Uluru Rock has marked the finish line every year since its 2016 inauguration, but the start line, and route to it, have always been changed - with Tasmania marking the start of the 2018 edition. Dreamt up by the 'chief instigators' of the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, and with Sarah Hammond as the race's only ever victor, the race is anything but a ride for the faint hearted.

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