The Shimano MTB GP has come to a close for 2015, but not without a bang! Round six of the four and seven hour endurance mountain bike series was held at Mowbray Park Farm and on their 9km trail through picturesque bush and farm land with stunning views of the Wollondilly Shire. More than 1,200 laps were completed by a field of 200 competitors from all over NSW and the ACT and their message to the event organisers at the end of a warm spring day was overwhelmingly positive – the trails were spoken of as being fun and rewarding with an event centre that offered fantastic vantage points to see all the action for spectators.
It was a proud moment for the Briggs family, owners of the Mowbray Park Farm – after years of grooming and building mountain bike trails on their property with the help of the local Wollondilly Macarthur MTB Club, event promoters Rocky Trail Entertainment hosted the very first mountain bike event on the venue last weekend.
Lloyd and Stevenson win the 4hr solo crowns
In the four hour event, Andrew Lloyd from Newcastle again dominated the men’s solo field and with a race win in the general classification (GC) he took out the overall series title as well. More than 250 male solo riders had competed in the six events that included James Estate Winery (Upper Hunter Valley, NSW), Awaba MTB Park (Newcastle, NSW), Ourimbah MTB Park (Wyong, NSW), Stromlo Forest Park (Canberra, ACT), The Australian Botanic Garden (Mt Annann, NSW) and the final round at the brand-new trails in Picton. Andrew Lloyd claimed the overall line honours at Mowbray Park Farm with 10 laps completed in 4:08:05 ahead of Michael Clark from Winston Hills (+2 min) and Dave O’Connell (-1 lap) from Chatswood. In the 4 hour solo series men’s GC Max Richardson from Erina came in second place, ahead of JetBlack racer Michael Crummy from Richmond.
The women’s solo field was dominated throughout the series by a strong Wendy Stevenson, the experienced SuperMaster’s racer from Waverton in Sydney. Stevenson won the overall title with a race win in Picton – 7 laps in 3:57:31 – ahead of Central Coast’s Charlie McCabe (+3:18 min), the women’s series runner up. Third at the final series race was Tarryn Myburgh from Lilyfield (NSW) and the third series spot overall was claimed by Mondraker racer, Kellie Weinert from Kearns (NSW).
7hr solo titles won by Finlayson and Allen
JetBlack racer Andrew Finlayson from Sydney is the 2015 SHIMANO MTB GP Series winner in the seven hour solo men’s general classification and the his runner up, Jarrad Connolly from the Central Coast was the race winner in Picton. “This was a great finish to the series! I gave everything to claim this victory. The trails were in great condition, what a spectacular venue – the climb to the finish was brutal, but the descent that followed at the beginning of every lap with that view was just insane”, he said.
In the seven hour men’s solo general classification Connolly finished with 16 laps in 7:24:27 ahead of Jason Pearce from Singleton (-1 lap) and Canberra’s Sam Moffitt.
Jarrad Connolly
In the women’s race, Catherine Wood from Linden (NSW) won with 12 completed laps in 6:58:35 ahead of Wingello’s Leah Childs (+11:37 min) and Melinda Allen from the Sutherland Shire, who is the 2015 solo women’s series winner. Melinda Holmes from the Central Coast came in second overall, ahead of Dalene Pretorius from Tooraweenah near Dubbo.
Melinda Allen – series winner
More than 600 individual riders competed in the entire series and the organisers from Rocky Trail Entertainment together with Shimano Cycling Australia have confirmed that at least five rounds will be held as part of the Shimano Mountain Bike Grand Prix Series in 2016 with several new locations again on the radar. Dates are currently set on the Rocky Trail calendar, but are subject to change.
For future details, and results from all races, head to the Rocky Trail Entertainment website.