Historical information
In 2015, the Marketing, Events, and Operations teams at Falls Creek launched McKayos—a bold, one-of-a-kind race designed to showcase the resort's trails to winter visitors.
Inspired by the legendary Megavalanche in the French Alps, McKayos was a mass-start descent from the summit of Mt McKay (1,850m) to the edge of Lake Bogong, over 1,200m below. Riders tackled snow, village roads, fire trails, and singletrack across an 18km course.
With the support of the Lift Company, competitors and bikes were transported up the Falls Express chairlift before climbing to the summit start line. In later years, the race began at the Ski Patrol base.
Held for five consecutive years, McKayos grew to attract up to 450 participants, cementing itself as a legendary event in Australian mountain biking history.
This shirt is from the 2016 event when the winners were:-
Open Men: Paul van der Ploeg (1st), Sebastian Jayne (2nd).
Women: Lisa Brydon (1st), Julia Clark (2nd)
Junior Men: Ben McIlroy (1st) Casey Griska (2nd)
Jo Prothero, Director of Marketing for Falls Creek Resort Management from 2012 to 2019, generously donated two mountain bike jerseys that capture a pivotal era in the resort's history.
During Jo's tenure, the resort made significant investments in mountain bike trails, aiming to activate the village during the summer months and support local businesses. This development included appointing Blue Dirt as the resort's first shuttle operator, transporting riders from Howman's Gap to the Summit.
Significance
This shirt is significant because it represents an important and innovative event held at Falls Creek Victoria.
Physical description
A green and gold cyclist shirt featuring the logo of the McKayos Mountain Bike Ride. It also has a mountain bike on the front in black. The Mckayos logo in on the upper left. The back features the words SNOW, DIRT, ROAD as well as sponsors' logos and "Falls Creek Victoria and the manufacturer, Sacul Sportswear of Mount Beauty, Victoria.
McKayos is on the right sleeve and 2016 is on the left sleeve.
