This race report has been provided by Gary Harwood. He has had a busy year, winning his category at the Ingkerreke Commerical MTB Enduro, racing lap based events, cyclocross and Marathons – plus a lot more.
That’s the question that came to mind when entering the Choc Foot, 8 hour Enduro last weekend.
Welby is a quiet little place between Mittagong and The Hume highway in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW. It’s the home XC racetrack of The Southern Highlands Mtb club but I think due to it’s short distance of around 7km it had never been considered for any event larger than a club round. Until now! The club have obviously been busy digging out another 3kms or so of fresh singletrack that has took it to the next level and made the track more suitable for a larger number of riders.
An early morning start in Sydney had my alarm going off at 4.45am with a plan to leave the house and get on the road at 5.30am. All was good timing wise and a 90 minute drive got my Partner Martine (a solo entrant) and myself trackside with an hour to spare before an 8am race start. We managed to get a great spot a few hundred metres from the start and set up camp next to the car and hooked up with my race partner, Ben Edols, a solid rider from The Northern Beaches Manly Warringah Club. I’d drawn the short straw (as usual) and was picked for the first lap. It’s always a really tense time on the startline of these events with everyone revved up and jostling for a place in the first few rows of riders.
The start was string out quickly enough at Welby. Photo: Dave Bateman
I was in luck and had a spot on the front row. A few deep, nervous breaths and off we went. A slip of the pedal at this point can put you back 20 or 30 places but I managed to clip in first time and gave it everything up the Firetrail incline, desperate to be one of the first into the singletrack. A couple of hundred meters later and i was about 5th rider into the tight switchbacks. With Stevens Bikes Mitch Codner leading the way I was more than happy with the lead out and position I was in. Any further back than 10th or 15th place in these mass starts and you run the risk of getting caught in some major and very frustrating bottlenecks that can turn your first lap into nothing but a conga line crawl.
Andrew Hall (Radical Lights Factory Racing) took the Solo mens win at Welby. Photo: Dave Bateman
Onto the first piece of Firetrail, I was passed by a couple of riders and being half my age I certainly didn’t hold it against them. Settling into about 8th or 9th as we finished the start loop and I went through the start/finish area to complete the first full lap. I managed to hold a top ten place for the whole lap and was stoked to get through it ahead of the masses and give Ben a good advantage on his first lap.
As the day went on I felt great and had managed to keep my times for the first five laps within around 15-20 seconds of each other.
A DNF at a Marathon a few weeks earlier had given my confidence a knock and i was questioning my form prior to this event. Anyway, no need to worry as I was feeling great and apart from the usual tiring throughout the race my times only dropped by the expected amount as I completed my final couple of laps.
1 hour till the 8hrs was up and I thought I would go to timing and have a peek at how we were going. I had no idea and was just enjoying the laps without worrying what position we were in. Brilliant! We were in first place by a full lap in the Masters category and what impressed me more was we happened to be in third place in the Open Men! We were giving the young guns a run for their money and I was tickled pink!
It was 3.50pm and with ten mins to go, I heard Ben shout through the trees as he approached. I didn’t have to do this last lap to cement a win in the Masters pairs but it was that third in the Open Males that I was keen for. There was no prizes or recognition for this result but it didn’t matter. It was a matter of personal pride and that’s what drove me on that last lap.
So we got the win (and the silent third in the opens).
Turns. Photo: Dave Bateman
I finished the day feeling the freshest I have felt at the end of a race in ages. I certainly couldn’t have pushed any harder but for some reason I just felt ‘Good’?
Sure, a win does lift the spirits but I’ve had wins before and felt terrible! I suppose it was just a good day.
As for the question “Where’s Welby?”. There’s no need to ask that anymore. I’d say the Welby track is one of the better trails I have ridden in a while and would even put it in my top three in NSW. That’s a big call and although it might not suit all riders, it’s a technical trail with a good mix of flowing, drifting off camber corners, tight rocky drop offs and pinches, a few hair raising shutes that really gets the heart pumping and just the right amount of double and firetrail to give you enough time to drink and eat.
Hats off to all the solo riders (including my other half Martine!) I wouldn’t want to do 8hrs at race pace around that track solo if i was paid! Far too hard on the body and mind!
A big thanks to Fiona and the Chocolate Foot team for putting on another slick and fun event. I have to add, the prizes were top notch. Obviously a lot of work had gone into negotiating deals with sponsors in order to get a great prize pool together.
I look forward to the next Choc foot and will certainly be looking out for any races at Welby on the Southern Highlands Mtb club calender. It’s a fair drive from Sydney for a club xc race but I am sure the reward of racing this excellent track will more than outweigh the drive!
Full results can be viewed here.