Cory Wallace’s 24HR world solo win

This past weekend, the Wembo 24HR world solo mountain bike championships took place in Armidale, Australia, and Jasper’s own Cory Wallace did what he does best—grind out an epic victory. With this win, Wallace claimed his fifth straight world title.

From the Ashes

“It had been a hectic September,” Cory admitted. After the savage wildfires that swept through Jasper, Cory spent days cleaning up before hopping on a plane and heading halfway across the world. The course in question had beaten him three times in the past.

Race day kicked off with an unlikely start. “I woke up from a nine-hour sleep, feeling ready to go,” Cory recalled. “The only hiccup was draining a four-liter pot of cowboy coffee into the Thermoses for the race. I used a fork and missed a few grinds, but figured the extra grit would just mean more caffeine.” And with that, Cory was off to meet his pit crew—his long-time coach, Luke Way, his Aussie buddy James Lamb, and his sponsor Radical Lights. They had everything dialed in, and soon enough, the race began at noon on the trails of Mt. Stromlo.

Battle on the trails

From the outset, the pace was fierce. By the second lap, a lead group of seven had formed, but it didn’t take long for that group to dwindle down to four, as two of Australia’s strongest marathon riders, Jon Odams and Mick Sherwood, took control at the front. Cory and the seasoned Aussie endurance legend, Jason English, trailed behind but worked together to bridge the gap.

“Mick was putting in some solid 400-watt efforts up the main climb,” Cory said. Those efforts would eventually drop Jon, leaving Cory and Mick to duke it out. Cory decided to take his chances in the singletrack, putting the pressure on with a small gap forming on one of the A-lines. Mick, trying to chase him down, suffered a big crash on the descent, stretching Cory’s lead even further.

With Mick, Jon, and Jason chasing around 4-5 minutes back, Cory kept the hammer down, eventually pushing his lead out to 20 minutes. Jon pulled out of the race, and Jason dropped a lap back, leaving Cory with only Mick to fend off.

Night racing with kangaroos

The Australian night offered a surreal experience for Cory. “Racing through the night with kangaroos hopping all over the place, one wallaby, and thankfully, no snakes,” Cory laughed. He kept his lead steady, but Mick wasn’t going down without a fight. By dawn, Cory still held onto his 20-minute lead, though Mick…