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From the place that time forgot, to mountain biking hotspot. Welcome to Derby.

15 Apr 2020

Thomas Vanderham shreds some of the most unknown yet most outstanding mountain biking trails in the world.

When asked, not a lot of people would be able to place Tasmania on a map of the world. Tasmania is an Australian island located south of the State of Victoria’s coast. It is well known for its abundant wildlife, magnificent landscapes and its pop culture emblem: the Tasmanian Devil.

In Tasmania, lots of small communities have had to deal with a big rural exodus over the past decades, as more and more people living in the countryside decided to move to the bigger cities of Devonport, Launceston, Hobart or the Australian mainland.

The small town of Derby was one of them. However in 2015, trail builders started creating mountain biking trails around the village and have never stopped since. Derby quickly became a very active mountain biking community, with more and more riders travelling in and out of this remote location for some of the best trail riding in the world.

Derby Mountain Tasmania

In 2017, Derby hosted their first Enduro World Series stage, which has become a regular event of the calendar ever-since. Every other year, the best Enduro riders in the world usually head to the mountain bike mecca of Rotorua, NZ, before going to Derby.

Today, Derby seems to have risen from its ashes, and it is known as a mountain biking hotspot ‘In the middle of nowhere’ for European & North American mountain bikers.

Derby Mountain Tasmania

Eager to have a taste of those trails of redemption, our Lazer mountain biking legend Thomas Vanderham headed to the island located down under the Land Down Under in December 2019. How did it go? As Thomas said himself: ‘It made for a new riding experience that I haven’t come across anywhere else in the world.’

Curious to know what all this fuss is about? Head out to Derby! Or alternatively, you can start by watching the video hereunder. 

Derby Mountain Tasmania Video Derby Mountain Tasmania Video play play