All photos by Outerimage.com.au
Round 2 of the Shimano Mountain Bike Grand Prix Series continued its popular new format of general classifications (GC) and a wide range of age categories at Awaba MTB Park near Newcastle on the weekend. Andrew Finlayson from the JetBlack Racing team beat none other than Canberra’s endurance whippet, Ed McDonald, by mere seconds after seven hours of racing on the 10km track. Su Pretto from Newcastle took the overall women’s title ahead of Round one winner, Melinda Allen and Lana Moy from Sydney’s Northern Beaches increased her series lead with a win in the 4-hour competition. Novocastrian Andrew Lloyd had switched to the shorter race option as well, winning ahead of Trent Pons and Mike Cameron.
The race organisers from Rocky Trail had been glued to the weather radar during the week with heavy rain forecast for Australia’s East Coast. With an improving outlook for the Newcastle region the event was completed in dry conditions and more than 250 riders from all over NSW and the ACT had been summoned to the iconic mountain bike track at Awaba. “It’s always a thrill in the lead up to the race and rider safety and track sustainability factors are always on top of mind”, said Race Director Martin Wisata who added that the newly launched general classification system had received a positive welcome from riders.
“Our aim is to reward more riders in a wider range of age categories and to also celebrate the outstanding achievements of our athletes across general solo and team classifications”, Wisata said. Again the race had attracted full podiums in the junior male and female age groups and added age brackets for the under 30 riders allow a more direct comparison of abilities and skills. Impressively in the GP4 hour race, a junior pairs team with Joel Kristensen and Harry Watson from Sydney’s South raced onto second place in the GC, proving that there is plenty of young talent coming through in the series.
Craig Gordon challenges Tristan Ward
The GP7 hour pairs category is one of the most popular categories in the event and right from the start it was on between the JetBlack BH Pair of 2006 24-hour solo World Champion Craig Gordon with team mate Andrew Fell against the young guns with National Series racers from Newcastle, Tristan Ward and Jamie Sell from the Pushys Online/Torq-Merida team. The deciding battle ended up to be on the very last lap between Gordon and Ward and the young local athlete crossed the line just half a minute ahead of his well-known counterpart from Wollongong. “That’s what racing is all about, I love it”, said Gordon with a cheeky grin. “That was an intense last lap”, admitted an elated Ward, “What a way to finish a race on my home track!”
Round three will take the Rocky Trail racers to Ourimbah MTB Park near Wyong on 20 June. For more information and online registration, visit www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Top results Round 2 at Awaba:
GP4 Solo Male:
1. Andrew Lloyd / Quantum Racing Team / Newcastle, NSW / 7 laps in 4:01:23
2. Trent Pons / Spring Farm, NSW / 7 laps in 4:21:11
3. Mike Cameron / Over Yonder / Maroubra, NSW / 7 laps in 4:24:53
GP4 Solo Female:
1. Lana Moy / MWCC / Collaroy, NSW / 6 laps in 4:33:34
2. Sara Mills / JetBlack BH / Castle Hill, NSW / 5 laps in 3:51:47
3. Wendy Stevenson / Waverton, NSW / 5 laps in 4:00:19
GP7 Solo Male:
1. Andrew Finlayson / JetBlack Xavier Advertising / Castle Hill, NSW / 12 laps in 7:22:37
2. Ed McDonald / Onya Giant / Canberra, ACT / 12 laps in 7:23:05
3. Jason Pearce / Sydney, NSW / 11 laps in 7:11:01
GP7 Solo Female:
1. Su Pretto / Drift Bikes / Newcastle, NSW / 8 laps in 6:45:24
2. Melinda Allen / ZeroFive Racing / Sutherland, NSW / 8 laps in 7:22:54
3. Melinda Holmes / Saratoga, NSW / 8 laps in 7:51:42
GP7 Team 2:
1. Pushys Online/Torq Merida / Tristan Ward and Jamie Sell / 13 laps in 7:18:04
2. JetBlack BH Pairs / Craig Gordon and Andrew Fell / 13 laps in 7:18:35
3. Erina Bikeworx / Peter Telford and George Ruzek / 12 laps in 7:28:42
Full race results and series progress results are available via www.rockytrailracing.com