Clarence Street Cyclery riders enjoyed a bumper weekend at the third round of the Real Insurance XCM series, with training partners Matt Fleming and Jenny Fay taking first place in their respective men’s and women’s events at the Husky 100k’er on Sunday.
The pair both took commanding victories in the race, each finishing minutes ahead of their nearest competitors. Overnight rain had turned much of the course into a mudbath, making it harder for the riders and extending considerably the expected 4 hour finishing time of Fleming.
The clay of the NSW south coast saw an exhausted and mud-spattered Fleming stop the clock in 4:35. He was followed across the line some minutes later by an equally shattered Dylan Cooper (Trek), who admitted he had considered pulling the pin on the race during the second half of the event.
Fleming claimed the King of the Mountain’s points at the 29km mark, having opened an 11 second gap at the 20km mark. His performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that he caught and then gapped – for a second time – a group of 100km riders who had inadvertently taken a wrong turn.
“I was riding by myself at the 15km mark and just kept pushing,” said Fleming at the finish. “Later in the race I saw a group of riders from the 100km and thought I must be having a bad day. I was a bit confused, but I caught them and just kept on pushing.”
Despite the confusion caused by the wrong turn, Fleming’s initial attack early in the race proved to be the winning move. Second placed Cooper admitted he had encountered a tougher race than he expected, with the rain changing the face of the race. The middle 50km proving the toughest for competitors as Cooper, too, found himself confused by the race situation.
“It was really difficult with the mud. I’d expected a four hour race,” said Cooper. ” I didn’t have enough food and we missed a feed too.
“I thought it was over for me but some one told me I was still in it, so I had to start thinking positively. I’m glad I kept pushing because I’ve come away with a good result.”
Fay far too strong in the women’s race
Jenny Fay lived up to her pre-race favourite’s tag with a clear victory. Fay finished in five hours to record victory. The confusion of mistaken turns also affected the women’s result, with Brie Webb finishing around 20 minutes ahead of Fay, only to be told she had in fact raced shorter than the full course.
However, for Fay, who was unaware of Webb’s position, the result was a huge satisfaction on what was a tough day for all competitors. Fay is using the Real Insurance series to prepare for the Australian National Series, which get underway later this year.
“I never expect an easy race in Australia,” she told MarathonMTB at the finish. “I was expecting a good result, I had my eye on some men I wanted to race with just to keep the pace up and keep me pushed.”
Millburn on fire in the 50
Garry Millburn (Cannondale) had earlier crossed the finishline in the 50km race, two seconds clear of Andrew Arthur (Stevens). The pair had been locked in a two-man battle since the 5km mark, when they moved clear of their competitors in the Elite bunch. William Bowron proved the best of those behind to take third.
Millburn crossed the line in 1:59, which gave observers hope that the 100km bunch would match pre-race expectations of a four hour race.
“Andrew and I worked well together all race. We got away at five kilometres and just pushed from there,” said Millburn, who will miss the next round of the series but will return for the last race in the series.
“I’m off for a month’s holiday in Europe. I’ll miss the Bottlebutt, but I’ll be back for the [Highland] Fling.”
For Arthur, who has battled against Millburn since his junior racing days, his narrow second place was chalked up to a tactical error in the finale.
“The first and the last bits of the course were the hardest, but it was really good out there,” Arthur told MarathonMTB. “I just stuffed up my sprint in the end.”
Stay tuned to MarathonMTB.com for more images and results from the Husky 100k’er.
Read MarathonMTB.com Team Rider Justin Morris’ race report.