Mt Joyce Mountain Bike Park opened in 2011, and the Australian XCM Champs that year would have been the first event to be held on the new trails. They were actually so new, that the venue wasn’t yet open, and racers were almost required to race in long sleeves and with steel capped shoes. That year played out like 2013, showing that Jenny Fay and Jason English are phenomenal marathon racers, winning the races in Mt Joyce and Atherton respectively. Both years had a lot of speculation too – few had ridden the whole lap at Atherton last year, and there was a lot of scaremongering saying it would be too long, too hard. At Mt Joyce in 2011, no one knew. The course was closed until we raced it.
Three laps for less than 100km seemed like a walk in the park in 2011. Until we raced it. The first lap was cautious (for a race) and on the second top riders unleashed. On the third, some of them realised what they had done, and pulled out. Mt Joyce was hard. The trails were technical, the climbs were steep, and you had to work hard to go fast.
Mt Joyce – the Profile doesn’t look that friendly!
So, with a 24km lap, to be raced three times, we are faced with a 74km marathon for the Australian Marathon Championships. Those who have raced or ridden at Mt Joyce know that those 24km laps, with about 900m climbing, will hurt. A course with a lot of climbing and a lot of single track will be physically and mentally demanding. This suits an experienced racer who can deal with the climbing, the technical nature of the course, and how they need to manage their bike, hydration and nutrition to get through it.
The Start Lists are published online, but here’s an overview for the main categories. Entries are open this weekend until Sunday morning, but check out the details.
Elite Men
Casting your eyes down the start list you look at names of past and current champions. But there’s more to it than that.
Jason English – Marathon Champion in 2011 and 2013, Jason hasn’t had a huge win this year. But that’s not to say he can’t. English always rises to the occasion, and is better at measuring his efforts than perhaps anyone else.
Jason English. He wins a lot.
Andy Blair – Marathon Champion in 2012, and second place behind English in 2011 and 2013. Blair has been racing at an elite level since he was a kid. World Cup XCO experience, Marathon racing including the World Championships, Cyclocross, road racing, stage racing – he’s done it all. He’s a great tactician, technically brilliant, and with his focus on Commonwealth Games selection, he’s fighting fit ahead of the first World Cup in Pietermaritzberg. As he’s said himself – any quality XCO racer can do a good marathon. He’s shown us that countless times, and with English is probably equal favourite for the title.
Blair has seen everything, and raced everything, and won most things.
Cory Wallace – Visiting from Canada, and the current Canadian XCM Champion. Wallace is here to race as Australia has better marathon racing than Canada – just ask him. He’ll have a good showing, but his big goals are later in the year.
Cory Wallace wore the Maple Syrup jersey (awarded to the fastest Canadian to eat a stack of pancakes after a Marathon Race) with pride since earning it. Photo: Gilbert Romane
Adrian Jackson – Adrian ‘AJ’ Jackson has won most of the major marathons in Australia, and won the first round of the Real Insurance XCM Series in Bright, so will be in the series leaders jersey, as the Champs are also the 2nd round of the series. More than that though, AJ placed 5th in the XCO two days before the XCM event in Bright. He’s got great form at the moment, and barring mechanicals or injury should make the podium, with a shot at the title.
Aj Climbing with speed blur
Dylan Cooper – Another long time campaigner along with Blair and Jackson, Cooper had a similar run to Jackson in Bright – just one place behind for the XCO and XCM. Another podium contender – who should be improving through the year as he gets accustomed to the sleep deprivation of fatherhood.
Dark Horses: There are a few. Pete Hatton is one to turn up, podium, and then go home. Mark Frendo is an U19 and U23 XCO National Champ, and won the Crocodile Trophy in 2013 after picking up his dad’s bike in the middle of the year. He’s also a Brisbane resident, so could have trained on the course. Shaun Lewis fits in a similar mould to AJ – he’s won a lot of big races, and knows how to put it together. If Blair is saving his legs for the World Cup, perhaps the Swell-Specialized Team will play this card? Andy Fellows is another rider who lives nearby, and could play a role in the front of the race.
Chris Jory – not his first rodeo. He raced the Fling in 2012. Photo: Richie Tyler
Of course, with Andrew Hall and James Downing in the mix, along with fellow Canberran Ed McDonald, previous XCM Champ Murray Spink, the Rubach brothers and seasoned euro roadie Chris Jory – there are a lot of ways this race could play out. Any of these riders could crack the top 5, or all of them could fill out the top 10 with the previously listed riders.
Elite Women
We must remember that although Jenny Fay has been the most prominent women’s Marathon racer in Australia – she’s Irish. What’s more, she is Irish XCM Champ. So she can win the race, but not the jersey – just as she did in 2011 and 2013. So with her dominant performance at Capital Punishment in mind as well, Fay is outright favourite to win the race.
Fay may well win the race – but she can’t take the jersey. Photo: Sportograf
The two years that Fay won the race, Jenni King won the jersey. King has had a fantastic XCO season – and will be hoping to continue that, as she is not starting the XCM Champs. With King and Peta Mullens not in the race, the race for the jersey is quite open.
Looking over the other Elite women, it’s heavy with Liv/Giant team riders. Terri Rhodes, Jodie Willett, Rebecca Locke, Sarah Riley… three of which were in the top 5 at Atheron in 2013. I think Willett is likely to come out on top, given her good showing at the XCO Champs a month ago, and the fact she could be training at Joyce as a Brisbane resident. It is likely to be very close between Willett, Rhodes and Riley though.
Jodie Willett – knows how to hurt, and Mt Joyce is ‘her local’.
Mel Anset may upset this – she had a good race at the Bright XCO Champs, after racing the Cyclocross Worlds, and then won the first round of the Real Insurance XCM Series. A great bike handler, and fantastic climber, Anset made the hilly and twisty course at Bright look easy. She may feel well at ease at Mt Joyce.
Melissa Anset, Cyclo Cross is the best XCM prep.
Eliza Kwan raced well at XCO Champs but sat out the first round of the XCM Series, and Imogen Smith raced both – yet has her sights on races at the end of the year.
So a lot is up in the air. And some time on Sunday afternoon, we will know who we can call our 2014 Australian Marathon Champions.
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