After five exciting rounds, the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series was set for an action packed finale at the Awaba Mountain Bike park near Newcastle. As the largest round in the Series with over 360 entrants, it’s pretty clear that the swooping singletrack of Awaba is universally adored! Not even the thought of 8 hours of riding in temperatures around the mid-thirties could put riders off.
The series standings featured some battles that were set to go down to the wire in the final round, the solo men especially so. Despite winning 3 out of 4 rounds, Ed McDonald would still need to beat his mate and nemesis Andrew Hall to claim the overall Series victory. Hall won the final round and the Series last year so McDonald knew he would have his work cut out for him. After marking each other for 4 hours, the decisive moment came on the short but very steep Camelback climb as McDonald accelerated away from Hall and slowly prised open a gap that would remain until the conclusion of the race. McDonald taking the Series, Hall in 2nd for the race and the Series.
With the need to beat Andrew Hall to win the series, Ed McDonald rode a demanding pace on the first lap. Photo: Dave Bateman
The Female Solo featured a number of new names who shook up the leaderboard. Jessica Simpson and Janet Martin engaged in a tussle for the lead in the early laps while Eliza Kwan threatened in 3rd place. As the laps and heat took their toll, Libby Adamson slowly climbed up to the lead by the midpoint of the race and with a set of impressively consistent laps she retained her margin right to the end. Janet Martin’s 2nd place was more than enough to secure her overall win in the Series.
The Female Masters saw Wendy Stevenson achieve her 5th podium finish of the year, wining the round and taking the Series convincingly! Only Garry James’ team mate Jason McAvoy has been able to knock him off the top step of the podium in the Male Masters Solo category. James finishing in style with his 5th win and a convincing overall win of the Series. McAvoy taking 3rd on the day and 2nd in the overall, while 2011 Series champion Phil Welch clawed his way to 2nd place giving him enough points to move up to 3rd place for the Series, pipping Mike Israel by just a single point.
The team categories were full of drama and suspense, the favourites in the Male Pairs kicking off the day with a big crash! After a blistering start Luke Dale of the BikeCulture/Whyte racing duo found himself rolling in dust and sporting bruises. After the adrenalin wore off, the pair decided to call it a day and due to their considerable points lead they were still able to win the Series. Their withdrawal offered an opportunity to the Ashfield Cycles pair who had their own drama as one of their bikes remained locked inside a van to which they had lost the keys … they exchanged the same bike each lap, redefining the term teamwork and winning by a lap to team KMD Racing.
Luke Dale managed to hit the deck hard enough to not continue racing, but carry on wine tasting instead. Photo: Dave Bateman
The Female Pairs again featured London Olympian Bronwen Watson, after winning her first ever MTB race at Round 5, a similar result in Round 6 was virtually assured and with a reliable team mate in Belinda Diprose they dominated, leading from the gun and winning by a lap. Third on the day but top of the podium for the Series was the Silent Revolution pair of Di Gbel and Kristy Davis.
While the SRAM Singletrack Mind series attracts a high calibre field, it’s not often you get to ride with an Olympian. Bronwen Watson represented Australia at the London games in rowing and won the Women’s pairs for the second race in succession with Belinda Diprose. Photo: Dave Bateman
When it comes to winning a Series, consistency is key, the Masters Pairs category was a perfect example of this as the Elderly Illegitimates very legitimately won the Series after only gracing the podium twice during the year. They capped off the Series with a 2nd placing just behind the team of Just 2 Do It. The Mixed Pairs has seen a dominant leader but a mighty battle for the rest of the podium. With the Series already in the bag the Bike Culture team of Brent Miller and Brooke Rowlands decided to sit out the final round, so it was left to the teams of Super Stoked and Sebria to battle it out, but just to keep it interesting the father and daughter combo of David and Holly Harris also entered the fray. Harris confirmed her reputation as a rider to watch for the future as she recorded the fastest lap time of any woman in the event and, with her Dad, they overtook Sebria to finish in 2nd place a lap behind Super Stoked who were indeed stoked to win the round and jump up to 2nd in the Series.
On the subject of great young talent the junior category is positively brimming over with great riders of the future. The Series has seen 17 teams race across the season and featured a huge battle between the Young Guns and the Alltrack Cycles Juniors. The Young Guns living up to their name, Luke Brame, Tom Green and Bryce Whittaker racking up with their 5th win of the Series and taking the Series overall.
The Mixed Threes featured Real Insurance XCM Series Champion Jenny Fay and there was little surprise to see her lead her team to the win. Powered By Cadbury scored their 3rd win of the year in the Female Threes, but the ever-consistent RAK Racing’s 2nd place would get them over the line for the Series honours. The Masters Threes included a team of locals who showed the out-of-towners how it’s done at Awaba as Keir, Cole and Heeremans grabbed the win by just 3 minutes, while the Male Threes was a tight battle of the fast guys, Jet Racing’s Kyle Ward scoring the fastest lap of the day and team mate Garry Milburn 2nd fastest. Their speed too much for Velosophy Racing on the day, but it was the Ashfield Cycles crew of Ryan Buchanan, Robert Booker and Ben Isaksen who, with their early season win and consistent results, were awarded the champion’s trophies.
After winning the 2012 Real Insurance XCM Series, Jenny Fay was back on the bike in a Mixed Three’s Team. Photo: Dave Bateman
Despite the torrid conditions the race was widely declared a huge success with accolades heaped upon the Hunter MTB Association for the work they have put into making Awaba such a great facility. Race promoters Chocolate Foot are extremely happy with how the Series continues to grow, attract new sponsors and how the racing is becoming so close and hard fought. Details for the 2013 Series will be released in the coming weeks – dates are already on the MarathonMTB.com Calendar.