About a year after the 2013 Australian Marathon Championships visited the Atherton Tablelands, the Real Insurance XCM Series ventured north for it’s 4th Round. Falling on ANZAC Day, and prior to the main events of the Cairns World Cup, no one was certain who would be attending. A home World Cup is a big deal for local riders, so many top riders who can race to the podium at a national level XCM event have opted to focus on the World Cup, or something closer to home like the Odyssey in Forrest, Victoria – which is held this weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8twInctXMTo
Cairns has been lashed by rains, and although Atherton is further inland, it wasn’t exactly spared. Although initially the course had some muddy bits, but plenty of drier rocky sections, it deteriorated throughout the race.
After the race briefing, racers listened to the Last Post before a minutes silence to commemorate ANZAC Day.
Racers await the start in Atherton. Photo: Richie Tyler
Elite men were off first at 9am, and the slim field of 7 illustrates what a busy weekend can do to an elite field. After a genteel start a push from Jeff Rubach got riders fired up before the entry into the first singletrack. I quickly sunk backwards, realising that 3 days of recovery with two long flights isn’t the best way to recover from the Easter in the Alice Stage race. But with a guaranteed top 10 – why stop?
Jeff Rubach had a great race, coming in 3rd. Photo: Richie Tyler
Jason English and Cory Wallace ended up together a lot at the front of the race, or near enough to, but it was English who crossed to win, with Wallace in second. Jeff Rubach had a great ride for 3rd, with Murray Spink in 4th, and Daniel Rubach finishing 5th.
Elite women were 15 minutes behind, and Jenny Fay quickly assumed her position at the front of the race, with Australian XCM Champ Mel Anset behind. About halfway into the first lap, Anset flatted, and Sarah Riley moved into second place. Anset managed to eventually get her flat fixed, but could never quite catch Riley.
Mel Anset wrestles with a CO2. Photo: Richie Tyler
I bumbled around, and had a lot of thoughts about pulling out the entire 2nd lap. I was tired from the past month, and the conditions were ok, my bike was working, my legs weren’t sore, I was barely breathing. I just couldn’t pedal or concentrate. There certainly was no fire inside. On the second lap, the black dirt section turned to a horrible mud, clogging just about everything. The descent down trail 9 was getting more slippery, as the top sections of clay were wetting out – even this World Trail trail was giving way to the conditions.
That mud will wash right off. Photo: Richie Tyler
Magically though, things improved on the last lap. I cleaned my bike in the creek after the start, and just got back on to finish my ‘race’, wondering when Jenny Fay might catch me. The extra rain that kept falling had cleared a lot of the thickest mud, but made more resilient sections worse. It was still very muddy.
Jenny Fay gets wrestled by some big novelty animal. Photo: Richie Tyler
After this 4th round, there are also series rankings. Curiously, the series doesn’t appear to be using the CycleNation ranking algorithm, instead it’s 80, 65, 55, 48, 38 and downwards from there, with the best 3 counting. Not the best 4 from 5 as previously announced. So, for the current ranking system, the series stands:
Men:
Cory Wallace: 183pts
Jason English: 176pts
Adrian Jackson: 168pts
Women:
Melissa Anset: 225pts
Sarah Riley: 185pts
Jenny Fay: 160pts
The next, and final round, is the Convict 100, taking place on May 3rd at St Albans, NSW.