Having now attended many marathon mountain bike races at home and abroad, I have become accustomed at recognising what makes a new race take off. The Australian race calendar is flooded with events, and clashes are frequent. This is not a terrible scenario given how spread out our population is, but it makes it very hard to know where to race, and when. For riders who want to race, the decisions must be more difficult. What race is well run, or offers a suitable category, or which will really test me?
Looking at some of the most popular races in Australia, like the Highland Fling, Flight Centre Epic, Convict 100 and Kona Odyssey, we have races that have a story. They have a prestige which makes them a goal for Elites to win, but they are also a known entity that just about any bike rider who has done a couple of races will have a story about. Or their mate will. Many other races could claim similar popularity.
In June last year, I was introduced to Alan Vogt at a Singletrack Mind race at Kowen Forest. Alan had been out building trails on that cold winters day as we got to race on a lot of the Kowalski’s handiwork. They worked, we played. It didn’t really seem fair but I don’t think anyone at that race really questioned it. We spoke about his race that was planned for the coming September, and it sounded amazing. A race that would be a blast to ride, and that might actually shut up all the whingers who complain about ‘too much fire trail’ in marathon races. Well, that was my hope, that it would make people realise how hard a marathon made up of almost entirely singletrack is. I think Alan was more concerned about putting on a great event on awesome trails.
I raced the first Kowalski Classic in September 2012, and actually had mixed feelings. The trails were great, but would the course allow for good racing? There were a couple of hiccups, but the general consensus was that it was a fun event that had even more potential. As Race Director, Vogt took on a lot of feedback. There had been some issues with course marking, but nothing beyond normal for some races.
Kowalski Classic, version 1
The promotion of the 2013 race was immense. This race clearly is set to be a prestigious event, and with the promise of good cash prizes and the proximity to Sydney and Canberra especially, the participation of elites was guaranteed. Riders flew from as far away as Perth! Backing that up with trails that have been painstakingly developed just for the love of riding, well stocked feed zones, and in the school holidays as well… it was set to go off. And with 950 riders for a second year event, it looked like it was set to go.
The well made trails stood up to the volume of rain preceding the race remarkably well, and it was a case of hero dirt with some wet patches come race day. While it was barely a handful of degrees while warming up, the sun was out and it was warm enough for fast racing. Deep elite fields headed off at 7:30am, with six waves of riders all told. This was smart and considered planning for such a course.
Train, race, train. Then race WEMBO. Ed McDonald rode 35km out to the race, raced, then rode home.
The top 20-30 racers were all together for quite some time, riding fast and smooth through the trails that started at the top of the first climb. I popped off early on, but I wasn’t to be the only one. Soon enough i could hear the heckles of Andrew Hall through the trees, telling me to catch him as he was bored. I passed a blown Troy Herfoss on the way there. Next we caught Sebastian Jayne, and then Ed McDonald. And then Jarrod Hughes. The brutality of 90km of single track was catching up with the elite field! And it caught up with me (again), as Hall and McDonald rode to the finish without me.
In the front, well out of my sight, it was Kyle Ward and Mark Tupalski who rode away and created a gap on the main fire trail climb around the 30km mark. Both claim to have been ‘just riding’ when the gap formed. English bridged up from a group behind with the ease that shows he is one of the strongest MTBers in the country. Ward later blew up and it was English and Tupalski who came in together, with English relegating ‘Tupac’ to 2nd by winning the sprint. Andy Blair was in 3rd, after chasing to get back from a flat tyre.
English rode a tremendously strong race, and certainly deserved two slices.
In the women’s race, the fast start had Peta Mullens towards the front of the whole race, and the winner of the Flight Centre Epic, Jodie Willett, further back, as Jenni King, Jo Bennett and Tory Thomas were riding away. Tory suffered a flat tyre and lost a whole lot of time. Peta needed to pull out. And then, according to Willett, she found her legs partway in, and managed to catch those in front. By the finish, Willett crossed victorious, but just a couple of minutes ahead of Liv/Giant team mate Jo Bennett. Jenni King was in third place. Although the depth of the elite women’s field wasn’t quite the same as the men’s – neither is the participation. Regardless, the racing in both categories was highly competitive, and it shows there could be promise for more growth in women’s elite MTBing.
Willet backed up her Epic win with another at Kowalski
Given the success of this year, by the quality of racing, the quality of riding, and the sheer passion that the event organisers have put in, it’s clear that the Kowalski Classic will continue to grow in stature. Australia has another prestigious Marathon to add to the list now. If you weren’t here this year, make sure you are next year. And I’d be interested to hear if any 2013 racers won’t be back in 2014.
The women’s podium at the Kowalski Classic
Jo Bennett was a very close second place to Willett, making the trip from Perth worthwhile
