The sold out 5-Hour Brakeburner Enduro provided plenty of frantic racing today, with yesterday’s Stage One winner, Adrian Jackson focussing on classification rather than stage win, whilst the Super-D specialists shone for day two of the Bike Buller Mountain Bike Festival presented by Giant.
The placings for the Brakeburner are decided on a compilation of a rider’s best three times around the top of mountain 7.5km loop course plus their descent time down the Super-D course. However results are also determined by the amount of laps completed in the 4hr 15minute cut off time – those with the most laps ranked above those with less.
Hence, a combination of eight consistent laps – all in the 19min range bar two – completed by Andrew Lloyd plus a 39min 53sec descent and was enough to secure the New South Welshman Brakeburner honours for the day. Only two other riders managed to squeeze in eight laps, enough to secure Craig Findlow second place and Tom McMunn third for Stage Two.
Findlow was consistent with his loops all in within the 20 minute mark while McMunn ranged between 18 and 21 minutes. While today’s podium placers went for a high lap count strategy to secure their placing, others in the hunt for an overall Bike Buller Festival title shot for less laps but faster loop times.
Maintaining his place on the overall leader board is Adrian Jackson, who rolled out only four laps before descending down the 12km Super D. He did it in style, recording the fastest descent of the day, a 36min 56sec bullet, and his three fastest laps up top were all under 18 minutes.
Fourth placed in yesterday’s 50km XC, Josh Carlson, was the expected flier on the Super-D, but due to a small crash, he took things easy going down to protect an aggravated collarbone still healing from a previous break. He still managed the second fastest descent (37min 02sec) and the fastest all out lap on top of the mountain with an unbeatable 17min 01sec first lap of his eventual seven.
Carlson wasting no time on the river crossings. ©Tate Dogan
Jackson’s ride today maintains him a 12min 50sec gap over overall second placed Murray Spink, who came third in yesterday’s 50km XC. Yesterday’s runner up, Robbie Hucker did not compete in the Brakeburner and so is not in contention for Premier Category event win, meaning Josh Carlson rises to third in the overall Bike Buller standings. With only 28 seconds distancing Carlson from Spink’s second place, tomorrow’s 25km XC dash promises some tight racing.
There was also movement in the women’s overall Premier category with the disappointing news that Stage One winner, Frenchwoman Myriam Guillot, could not race today, her knee injury sustained yesterday forcing a reluctant withdrawal. That left the honours wide open to yesterday’s Premier Division riders Melissa Anset (S1 2nd – pictured above), Jess Douglas (S1 3rd) and Louise Cook (S1 4th) to battle it out.
Anset became the clear winner of the Stage, squeezing in six laps with a killer pace that resulted in her also registering the fastest top of mountain lap, a 20min 35sec scorcher. The only other rider to match Anset for laps was Bernadette McCann, an effort that secured her second place for the Brakeburner stage.
Louise Cook was third, courtesy of her five laps and second-fastest female descent time on the Super-D of 47 minutes. Jess Douglas was top of the drops with a fastest descent time of 45min 43sec matched to her four laps, all of which remained below 21min 14sec.
Jess Douglas descended well all day. ©Tate Dogan
The women’s results and DNS of Guillot means Anset becomes the provisional leader based on cumulative times of the overall Premier Women’s competition for the Bike Buller Festival. Jess Douglas jumps into second place overall while Louise Cook claims third heading into the final Stage Three 25km XC event tomorrow morning.
MENS STAGE 2:
1. Andrew Lloyd 8 laps
2. Craig Findlow 8 laps
3. Tom McMunn 8 laps
OVERALL BIKE BULLER MEN’S PREMIER PLACINGS AFTER STAGE 2 (PROVISIONAL):
1. Adrian Jackson 4:08:15
2. Murray Spink 4:21:05
3. Josh Carlson 4:21:33
WOMEN’S STAGE 2:
1. Melissa Anset 6 laps
2. Bernadette McCann 6 laps
3. Louise Cook 5 laps
OVERALL BIKE BULLER WOMEN’S PREMIER PLACINGS AFTER STAGE 2 (PROVISIONAL):
1. Melissa Anset 05:05:48
2. Jess Douglas 05:14:08
3. Louise Cook 05:39:48
