On Sunday 13 November more than 2,000 competitors will compete in the Briars Highland Fling, the final round of the inaugural Real Insurance XCM Series.
After a tightly contested Series it will all come down to the final result for both the Real Insurance XCM Series competitors and the Half XCM Series competitors.
With the big names of Mountain Biking registered to race it will be the competition contest between current Series leader Matt Fleming (Rockstar Racing) and Series contenders Dylan Cooper (Trek ) and Ben Mather (Avanti Plus) that everyone will be watching. The stakes are high for these riders as they will fight nail and tooth for their share of the $9,750 up for grabs in their categories!
Having never won the Briars Highland Fling, Matt Fleming is hoping to make 2011 his year by winning the Fling and taking out the Series “The Briars Highland Fling is one of the toughest enduro races on the calendar. The Fling is one race that has always eluded me. I’ve had many places but never a win overall. My form has been a little down of late but I will be firing on the day nonetheless. My goal is to finish in front of Ben Mather and Dylan Cooper and takeout the XCM Series, but a win would be a great way to finish off the series. I’ll be well supported in the race by new team mates from Rockstar Racing, and I’m hoping I can deliver a win as well as the XCM series for the Rockstar Racing team.” Fleming said.
Unfortunately for Series contender Dylan Cooper his series preparation hasn’t been ideal “Although I’m usually racing overseas and miss the Aussie winter, this year I’ve had a long off-season with the plan to build up to racing this summer. The Fling is what I was hoping to kick things off with. Although I’d left the start of my training very late, things were looking ok… until I caught a nasty virus last week. I’ve been off the bike with a chest infection and am not too confident about my chances of doing well now, but if I get well in time I’ll certainly give it a crack. You never know in mountain biking, as results can come from nowhere. My plan is to race unfit but fresh, which will mean my endurance won’t be so good. But maybe my legs will be rested enough to use some speed on a fast and variable course. There’ll be plenty of good competition as usual though, so it’s going to hurt regardless.” said Cooper
Dylan Cooper at the Husky 100 - Photo: www.cyclenation.com.au
Will Cooper be able to recover and pull out the goods to win the Series? All will be revealed at the Briars Highland Fling!
But there are other contenders too. Andy Blair (Swell-Redshift) is fresh off the overall win at the Cape to Cape in Western Australia. Although better known as a cross country specialist, Blair is a fantastic stage racer and Marathon racer (having placed second at last years event). This will be Blair’s seventh Fling. “The Fling is a big race in its own right. Is there a bigger Marathon? It’s a good time of the year to do a good marathon. The Fling has a lot of prestige.”
In the women’s Series current leader Sue Thompson needs to win the Briars Highland Fling in order to win the Series. This won’t be easy though with Vanina Vergoz, Sarah Neumann, Kate Heyns, Vicky Cluver and Wendy Stevenson all in contention to claim the Series win.
In the Half Marathon Series, current leader Glen Pleffer will be racing hard to take home the Series win and $1,000 prize money after posting 3 solid results from the last 3 events. While in the women’s Half Marathon Series a very consistent Kylie Webb looks set to take the win after winning the Capital Punishment, Dirt Works 100 and a very close 2 nd at the Husky 100ker.
The Briars Highland Fling is the biggest event in the Real Insurance XCM Series and one of Australia’s premiere mountain biking events. The Fling challenges cyclists of all levels by offering various endurance rides, from the 100 Mile Fling (165Km), Full Fling (110km) and Half Fling (55km), to a Flinging Threesome Relay and a Casual Fling untimed 14km participation ride.
Results from each of the four Real Insurance XCM events have been collated into a Series Ranking and listed on www.cyclenation.com.au . Competitors top 3 results out of the 4 series races will be counted towards their overall ranking, and the person with the highest points will take out the Real Insurance XCM Series. The Briars Highland Fling is the last opportunity for competitors to earn points towards their Real Insurance XCM ranking and share in the cash prize of $15,000. To view the current rankings visit www.cyclenation.com.au
Real Insurance XCM Series Prizes:
Overall Men:
1 st – $4,000
2 nd – $2,000
3 rd – $1,000
4 th – $500
5 th – $250
Overall Women:
1 st – $1,000
2 nd – $750
3 rd – $500
Half Series Men:
1 st – $1,000
2 nd – $500
3 rd – $250
Half Series Women:
1 st – $500
2 nd – $250
3 rd – $100\
KOM – $2,000
QOM – $500