National MTB Marathon Champion Jason English has taken out the inaugural Bottlebutt 100 with a gritty ride that bared all the markings of a true champion, holding out a solid challenge from Garmin Cervelo rider and training buddy Lachlan Morton.
Just one week after completing the 100-mile Fling in a little over 6 hours, English turned himself inside out to record a time of 4 hours and 51 minutes for his win at the Bottlebutt. This event held an interesting date, being re-scheduled from September, and moving firmly into the National Cross Country Series dates. Many top riders were at Round One in Perth.
A change of date to a warmer part of the year, and 60mm of rain just 2 days out from the event did nothing to alleviate the difficulties that riders were expecting to face during the race, despite the fact that race organisers iAdventure had shown some mercy by removing the Bago Bluff climb from this years event.
The general consensus on the day was that it was one of the tougher days in the saddle for many competitors, but an absolute blast none-the-less. English went so far as to describe it as perhaps the toughest 100km marathon on the Australian MTB calendar in 2011.
There were many tales of triumph on the day. Michelle Delaney, Elite Female winner and the only female to complete the 100km course, in a shade over 8 hours. Then there was Elise McLeod, who also rode for a shade over 8 hours, but that was just for the 50km event. Elise, tailed by the sweep rider, was said to be laughing each time that she fell off her bike, dusting herself off and jumping back on straight away. Elite Ironman Tim Berkel, hot off a winning performance at Challenge Copenhagen, took up the challenge of racing the Elite category and came a credible 4th.
The Bottlebutt 100 and Hairy-Butt 50 return in 7 months, moving to a more permanent date of the 2nd of June 2012. hopefully this will ensure a larger field for the second running of these events. Entries will be open on the 11th of January.
Lachlan Morton (Garmin-Cervelo) follows in the singletrack. Photo: Marathon-photos.com