After a week of torrential rain canceled Round 1 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series at Awaba in New South Wales, Round 2 kicked off the enduro MTB series for the team at Chocolate Foot Events.
Approximately 400 riders turned out for the 8hr enduro at Condoo Park State Forest in Nowra about 2.5hrs south of Sydney.
As the series title suggests, Fiona and her team at Chocolate Foot sure know how to put on a singletrack event. A fast, flowing and rhythmical 8km course was laid out across a total course elevation of probably no more than 100m with no less than 95% of the trail made up of awesome bermed singletrack.
Having raced the same event last year as a solo rider over a longer 11km circuit, I was please to see the track reversed and revised (in my opinion) for the better. Well done to the team for making this decision, as a cycling club president myself, I would imagine there was a lot of debate to arrive at this outcome.
Justin ‘Maddog’ Morris and myself teamed up for the male pairs category alongside Australian mountain biking stalwarts such as Perren Delacour, Matt Fleming and Troy Glennan just to name a few.
In addition, 2010 solo male winner John Odams also teamed up to join the elite pairs team category adding some serious depth to the starting list.
With little training under my belt, I had high hopes Maddog was in the mood for a 6hr mountain bike race but after an excellent starting lap from Maddog and few laps in the bank the legs switched into gear and we were cruising into the top 4 from 47 pairs teams.
Consistent lap times were very achievable due to the nature of the generally flat course. With enough log jumps, rock gardens and switch backs there was plenty to keep your eyes wide and throttle open.
A massive timing board on display in transition relayed live electronic timing chip data to keep everyone honest and for those too smashed (or lazy) to stand up, www.onlineresults.com posted the same data live and online to access from your smartphone from team camp or for your mum to check up on your progress at home.
Awesome tunes rolling through the P.A system and ongoing commentary throughout a fantastic sunny day couldn’t have made the day any better – EXCEPT, it could get better, with a RockShox SID XX fork up for grabs in the day’s lucky draw prize.
Congratulations to Matt Fleming and Troy Glennan (Rockstar Racing & Clarence Street Cyclery) winning the pairs category ahead of Bike Culture & Chomp on GU in 2nd and STEVENS Bikes in 3rd place.
In the womens pairs, the (unofficial Nintendo) team of Wii not Fit won ahead of Crack n Race and Silent Revolution – Two Giants in 2nd and 3rd.
In the solo category, the flat course allowed the singlespeeders a strong showing with 2 riders holding podium positions for the first 4hrs of race time. Singlspeeder Edward McDonald won the Solo Male 8hr ahead of Luke Dale and Matthew Wright in 2nd & 3rd respectively.
In the Solo Females, Bree Webb took out 1st place ahead of Singlespeeder Erin Zimmer in 2nd and Liz Smith in 3rd.
If you haven’t raced a SRAM Singletrack Mind event I seriously encourage you to grab a few mates and get down to Canberra for Round 3 on June 26 or Round 4 on August 21. These guys put on a great event giving you exceptional value for your entry fee and even hold kids races to keep the family entertained while you race.
See you on the trails.