By Brent Rees | 29 October 2025
Being the inaugural year of Sea Otter Australia, I was stoked to make my way down to Batemans Bay to experience the event firsthand and support my sponsors throughout the massive expo. The event village was a huge success, packed with brands and buzzing with energy. An awesome sign of things to come for this new fixture on the Aussie calendar.
The marathon course through the Mogo trail network offered the perfect blend of technical descents, hard climbs, and fast fire road sections. A truly physical and demanding race that rewarded consistency and skill. Coming off a successful Cape to Cape, I was feeling strong and ready to test the legs again.
After a neutral rollout from the event village, the pace quickly lifted on the highway climb toward Mogo as the flag dropped. I went on the attack early to lead into the first singletrack, and before long it was clear it would come down to a battle between current National Champion James Kelly, Joel Green, and myself. We traded blows throughout the day, with James setting an impressive pace early in the first lap, putting Joel and I under pressure on the descents. However, Joel and I eventually broke clear early on the second lap with an all-out attack to distance James. With Joel glued to my wheel, we worked well together to keep the pace high for the remainder of the lap.
On the final lap, Joel and I appeared evenly matched, as I wasn’t able to distance him until launching my final and decisive attack with six kilometres to go. I managed to open a small gap before the last descent and was able to extend this, holding the pace high to the line to take the win at the first-ever Sea Otter Australia Cross Country Marathon.
It was an incredible week all-round. Great racing, amazing trails, and an epic atmosphere across all the events and in the event hub. Huge credit to Martin, Juliane, the entire Rocky Trail team, and everyone involved in delivering such a polished event.
A massive thank you to all of my incredible sponsors and supporters for helping make 2025 such a successful year. I hope you’ve enjoyed my recap series (and forgive a few rookie errors in spelling and grammar along the way!).
I’m excited to carry this momentum into 2026, which is shaping up to be an awesome season of domestic racing across all disciplines.
About Brent Rees
Based on the QLD Gold Coast, Brent Rees is the reigning Oceania Continental XCM Champion and winner of the inaugural Thule Marathon Elite Classification at Sea Otter Australia.
Brent Rees is a passionate and driven athlete with a deep love for cycling and adventure. Initially introduced to the sport at 18, he quickly rose through the ranks, securing multiple State titles and podium finishes at National XCO rounds within just two years. Brent’s competitive journey has taken him across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe.
