The third running of the Rocky Trail 100 attracted a record field size, with almost 300 racers. More impressive than that was the depth of elite riders in the race. Many elite men chose to race the Rocky Trail 100 instead of the 2nd National XC round in Thredbo. Everyone will have their own reasons for that, but it is a sign of the general tip towards distance racing. In comparison, the elite women’s field at Thredbo looked incredibly strong.
With a 5am start for the 100 mile (or 5 laps of the approximately 28km course), it was Ed McDonald that took to the front. It was a clear advantage on his home track and a great deal of sheer determination that had Ed McDonald win the Rocky Trail 100 Miler elite race for the second year in a row at Stromlo Forest Park. On a monster circuit track he was the fastest rider to complete five laps, winning ahead of 24H endurance racer Jason English from Port Macquarie and fellow Canberran Callum McNamara. With English returning from injury after being hit by a wayward car in Stage 2 of the Crocodile Trophy, he seemed happy with his result. While not able to pull up on the bars, a solid block of training means that he is strong. By ‘giving it a bit’ on his last lap he managed to score his fastest lap, and one of the fastest on the day.
The 5am start would have hurt for the 100 mile racers, but rewarded them with views of the sunrise high above Canberra. “It’s awesome that this 100 miler race that began as a crazy idea and dare to the organisers a few years ago now attracts such great riders”, said Ed McDonald on the podium. “I knew I had to put the foot down early to have a chance to beat Jason [English]”.
The 100KM or three-lap challenge podium was in tight Canberran hands with Shaun Lewis winning ahead of Jarrod Hughes and Scott Chancellor in just under four hours. Sarah Neumann from Newcastle took out the 100KM Elite Female win. In the two lap/66KM races, Lewis’ fellow team mate Jenny Fay took out the Elite Female category and Garry Millburn won the Elite Male race. This marks another stepping stone for Millburn, after his win at the Wollombi 50km XCM race in September. His body took a lot of damage in a head on collision in 2011 – and the recovery is long and ongoing.
Shaun Lewis and Jenny Fay won their races, and injured team mate Andrew Blair was onsite for support.
Racing the single track heavy course at Stromlo was a reminder of how many good trails are out the back. There is true mountain biking skill required to get through there smoothly – let alone fast. Looking at the race times for the course lengths will give you an idea of the consistent work that the race demanded. But being Stromlo, there were plenty of good lines to reward riders as well. The dry and dusty conditions did experience some drops of rain – but mostly it was thunderstorms passing by.
Rocky Trail 100 Winners
100M Male Elite – (1) Ed McDonald, (2) Jason English, (3) Callum McNamara
100M Female Elite – (1) Liz Smith, (2) Merryl King
100M Male Elite Single Speed – (1) Brett Bellchambers, (2) David Speering, (3) Scott Ryan
100M Male Master – (1) Jason McAvoy, (2) Greg Burghardt, (3) Clayton Locke
100K Male Elite – (1) Shaun Lewis, (2) Jarrod Hughes, (3) Scott Chancellor
100K Female Elite – (1) Sarah Neumann, (2) Tylana Woodward, (3) Kate Nelson
100K Male Master – (1) Tony Rice, (2) Ben Edols, (3) Russell Reid
100K Male Super Master – (1) Garry James, (2) Peter Selkrig, (3) Rodney Hart
100K Male Team 2 – (1) Quantum Racing: Ondrej Slezak and Michal Kafka
66K Male Elite – (1) Garry Millburn
66K Female Elite – (1) Jenny Fay
66K Male Master – (1) David Medlock
66K Male Super Master – (1) Paul Morgan
33K Male Elite – (1) Glenn Columbine
33K Female Elite – (1) Jacki Sculthorp
33K Male Master – (1) Darren Dawson
33K Female Master – (1) Anthea Couvee
33K Male Super Master – (1) Paul Burbidge-Smith
33K Male Junior – (1) Griffin Layton-Scheld
33K Female Junior – (1) Nicola Burton
Full results are available via www.rockytrailentertainment.com