Spring has well and truly sprung in Sydney, and that is only part of the reason for over three hundred avid Mountain Bikers signing up to race Round 5 of the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series at Mt Annan, NSW, this Sunday. After a spate of wet Mountain Bike Marathons and Enduro’s of late, mountain bikers from Sydney and its surrounds were due a glorious day. To quote an experienced Marathon/XC racer “There’s no better place to be right now than Sydney, for a cyclist.” The mornings are crisp, the days warm, and the sun is up early enough to reward those who are dedicated to get out and ride.
With the Goulburn to City road race taking place on the same day, some may be concerned that this would effect the quality of the field who was racing. Although the road race had a strong turn out (and probably the fastest average speed on record, according to MarathonMTB.com Race Team rider Justin Morris) the field was deep in the usual categories at Mt Annan. The start list held familiar names like Glennan, Fleming, Ward, Potter, Arthur, Harwood, Odams, Bicknell, Arnott… and plenty more guns. It really couldn’t be said that the field was lacking.
The race got underway at 8am, and for those not racing it was time to quickly grab a coffee, faff with their bikes, or sit back and listen to Jim Trail start to talk his way through the day. There were many rounds of Kenda Koits to be played by young and old in the transition zone. The same area also had mechanical support SRAM, CBD Bike store, and cleaning and lubing thanks to Muc-Off. The beats were well varied too, featuring favourites such as Dizzy Rascal and Jane’s Addiction.
The Mt Annan course has been purpose made within the Mt Annan Botanic Gardens. It gets mixed reviews. Some feels it lacks flow, others are grateful to have a trail system so close to home. Just about everyone was in agreement that multiple laps on a day set to reach 30 degrees celsius would be punishing. Matt Fleming (Rockstar Racing) was the first rider through from the first lap, grabbing the lead (and the eventual category and overall win) for him and his team mate Troy Glennan. Lap times were well under 30 minutes for quite a few riders in the early hours of the race.
As the day wore on, the first hot day of Spring took its toll. Times slipped. Shade awnings were sat under. Beers were pulled from Esky’s. Some riders got a little bit ragged, and two were taken from the course, with reports of a broken collar bone and a concussion. There were a few more bandaged limbs on display – testament to the rigours of endurance racing.
For some, it was too much. Even with a Southerly coming in to disrupt people’s pop up tents and gazebo’s, the slight drop in temperature wasn’t enough. Soon after midday there were signs of a few people packing it in. Far from a mass exodus, some people were just happy to call themselves done. Persistence is rewarded though, and those staying and racing would be well looked after by the $10 000 worth of prizes supplied by SRAM, Lezyne, Kenda, Muc-Off, N-Zo clothing and Jimmy Jack Wines. Not to mention $2000 cash! Well done to all those who raced today, it was a tough course to race on, and the first good ‘sweaty’ day of Spring.
Full results from Castech can be viewed here.