The race for series honours heats up at Awaba
With wildly fluctuating forecasts in the lead up to the third round of the Finish Line Singletrack Mind MTB Series, competitors and the organisers Chocolate Foot were very pleased to be blessed with perfect weather including a light overnight shower which would add grip to the serpentine 12km ribbon of singletrack at Awaba MTB Park near Newcastle. With most of the contenders for category honours in attendance, both the day’s racing and the race for series points would be very hotly contested.
There was drama straight off the start when Trek’s Jack Lavis slid out on a corner in the start loop resulting in skin missing and his bike needing servicing. His mixed pairs teammate, Brooke Rowlands, quickly suited up to take over but the crash handed their main competitors, Doug and Danielle Pollock a five minute lead. Familiar names featured amongst the leaders and at the conclusion of the first lap Jarrod Hughes of the Onya Giant team was first through followed by talented young rider Guy Frail whose team Nutella Sandwich also included top junior talents Callum Carson and Australian Junior team representative Luke Brame. The top three solo men, Ed McDonald, Callum McNamara and local Andrew Lloyd were through soon after, glued to each other as they would be for the first 4 hours of the race.
“Fast is fun and fun is fast” After a tough start, it was all smiles for Mixed Pairs category winner Brooke Rowlands. Dave Bateman Photography
Eliza Kwan was again dominant in the women’s field, the first female through after the first lap and with a solid lead in the 7 hour Solo Female category, Liz Smith 3 minutes behind but she would gain on her rival over the early stages. The 4 hour Open Female category featured an epic battle as three riders from Round 2 again went head to head. Melissa Nuttall of the Chocolate Foot Women’s development team made the best of the start but would have the previous round’s winner Eva Boland in hot pursuit. The margin between the two was never more than 1.30 but Nuttall kept the pressure on all day to stay out of view of Boland and after 4 hours on the gas she took the win, just 1 minute ahead of the Canberran.
Chocolate Foot racing’s Melissa Nuttall won the 4 hour Open Female category after a tight battle with Eva Boland. Dave Bateman Photography
The other 4 hour solo categories were just as hard fought, local MTB legend Stu Adams won not only the Male Masters category but the overall win for the race. Proving that there’s plenty of young talent coming through the ranks, Bryan Dunkin was 2nd overall and won the Junior category convincingly. The Open Male went to Tristan Gribble, the Masters Female to Veronica Russell, and Male Super Masters to Ian King.
The 7hr race continued at a frenzied pace as the Male Threes teams of Nutella Sandwich and POC/Bikeculture/Whyte traded the lead but with Luke Brame setting the fastest lap of the day, the young team would have the edge over their more experienced rivals. And showing that fast legs run in the family, the fathers of Brame and Frail were part of the 3rd placed team in the Male Threes. The Male Pairs saw an identical podium to Round 2 with Onya Giant scoring another win, McGiant 2nd and Sydney Cycle Coaching 3rd.
There was a similar end result in the Female Pairs despite the Short Circuit Cancer team having the lead in the early laps – the series leaders from the Chocolate Foot Women’s development team kept the laps fast and consistent to regain the lead by the 2 hour mark. The Short Circuit ladies surged again towards the end of the race but their lead was only fleeting with the Chocolate Foot team winning their third round in a row and their teammates, the Chocolate Foot Pocket Rockets, filling the last step of the podium.
After an unfortunate start the Rowlands/Lavis duo put in some flying laps to regain the lead in Mixed Pairs within the first half of the race. Rowlands recording the four fastest female laps of the race and Lavis’ times were astounding considering the was sporting a large bandage on his right arm as well as a number of other grazes – less determined riders would perhaps have pulled the pin.
Sydney’s Ian Bridgland on his way to victory in the 7 hour Masters Men category. Dave Bateman Photography
The only solo category to see a shake up from Round 2 was the Male Masters, with Ian Bridgland switching positions with previous winner David Langley while Jason McAvoy’s return from injury saw him move up to 3rd. The Open Female saw Eliza Kwan and Liz Smith both finish on 11 laps, Kwan with her third win for the 2014 series and a virtual stranglehold on the number one plate. While it looked like the Open Male might come down to a tight finish, Ed McDonald was not prepared to take the risk and after 4 hours going toe to toe, he attacked on the steep “Camelback” climb. Callum McNamara was lucky to hold onto 2nd place after being plagued by mechanical mishaps, his race saved by the SRAM Neutral service crew, allowing him to get back on track with enough time in hand to stay ahead of Andrew Lloyd.
In all, a great day of tight and competitive racing with a great track provided by the Hunter MTB Association and perfect weather to cap it off. The Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series now makes its annual pilgrimage to the Coondoo Road track at Nowra. As it’s very different in style to Awaba, it’s sure to throw up some surprising results and make the battle for series points very interesting. Results are listed on the Chocolate Foot website