THE national mountain bike fraternity was united in its praise for the Blue Derby trails after the North-East community hosted the first of its two national marathon championships.
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Their praise was music to the ears of Dorset Mayor Barry Jarvis.
Cr Jarvis said that had anyone suggested five years ago that mountain biking could be the north-east's future, he would have said they were mad.
Elite riders were glowing in their compliments, while Mountain Bike Australia president Russ Baker said the teamwork with Dorset Council and Launceston Mountain Bike Club had proved a winning combination.
``Everyone is rapt by these trails,'' he said.
``The riders are really positive about the place and everyone will go home and talk about how great it is.
``People read magazines and social media, but ultimately, word of mouth is most powerful and they believe their mates when they say it’s worth going to.''
With previous championships held in Mount Joyce and Atherton in Queensland and Avoca in Victoria, Baker said there was a distinct appeal to using isolated locations.
``If you went to Sydney, they probably would not notice 600 people turning up for an event like this, probably not even 6000, but that’s really big for a place like Derby and we think it’s really important to build a relationship with the host town,'' he said.
``And that’s why we want to do these events for multiple years.
``Dorset Council has invested a lot of money for these tracks, which is why we want to support it more than once.
``But the real thing for Derby is not just having a high-profile race like this, it’s what happens every weekend.''
Port Macquarie’s Jason English boasts two national marathon titles plus seven national and five world 24-hour crowns, but was still blown away by Blue Derby.
``I was planning a holiday to New Zealand, but I think I’ll change my plans and come to Tasmania instead,'' he said.
``This is a surprise, but a very pleasant surprise _ I did not think the trails would be anywhere near as good as this.
``The best word to describe them is `fun', but they are good forawide variety of skill levels.
``I’m a teacher and I’ve twice taken kids to Rotorua, but I’d be happy to take them here because it’s good for beginners, too.''