The third and final round of the South Australian Gravity Enduro series headed to a proverbial favourite among crow eaters – Fox Creek! This track often gets used for the Inside Line state downhill races (as well as the Adelaide Mountain Bike Club cross country races) and it is generally fast!
There were a lot of riders sporting full face helmets because of the high speed along the stages.The sun was shining and riders were all smiles…Okay maybe not quite all smiles but overall!Now that is a cool way to roll!Troy Brosnan with a legend of the Aussie riding scene Steve Marsh. Troy will tell you it was Steve who found him and nurtured him to reach the professional level he has since got to.It was good to see Connor Fearon back racing after his crash in Norway a few months ago.The 4 stages that made up the race, riders had to complete them within the allocated time. Green Smoothie and Fast made an appearance along with a newer track
With volunteers scraping for time after being locked out of the forest due to fire ban in the days leading up to the event, everyone did an amazing job to get the trails bunted and groomed ready for racing Sunday. Being blessed by the weather gods was one way to make racing more flat out and corner slapping than ever. With both beginners and Adelaide mountain bike royalty coming out of the woodwork, it was set to be an awesome race for all.
The sun was shining!So enduro…Troy Brosnan was back on the bike after taking a well earned break in Hawaii!
With some big names in (and out) of the mix in the elite categories, Phillipa Rostan took out the ladies, followed closely by Jackie Schapel and Anna Puckridge rounded out the top three. All eyes were on Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon to battle it out in the elite mens. The number 1 plate of Dave West quietly confident he could knock the two young shredders off their perch (and rightly so….. with Dave being no slouch on a bike). After the day’s racing it wasn’t to be, with Connor Fearon taking out the elite men win by a considerable margin of around 20 seconds, followed by Troy and Dave filling out the remaining spots.
Connor Fearon took out the win by a massive 20 seconds, a far larger margin than we were expecting. Connor has given us a report from the weekend’s race so look out for that!Troy Brosnan second and smiling as usual!Third place for Dave West on the day, here he leads the pack!Smiles all around on the elite men’s podiumOur roving reporter, Aaron Pelttari, looking schmick if we do say so ourselves!There was different tracks that suited different riders and their skills.Darcy Grooby going flat out!And the prize for looking most like a professional goes to Kane Lademan who had everyone confused for Connor Fearon…!Always good to see more and more girls out on a bike and riding, something we hope continues to happen.These girls are no slouches on bikes either! Shelly Flood borrowing the photographers bike for a bit of fun.Towards the bottom of the stage saw riders have a few different options where they could drop in on.The timing system meant riders just had to insert their chip at the beginning and end of the stage, overall it worked well.The dry conditions meant there was some dust getting kicked up, it also meant riders were washing out when they were pushing too hard!Getting up high, setting up for the corner.Weaving in and out of the trees at Fox Creek.Being the final round the South Australian series we suspect next year there will be even more riders!
Thanks to all that put their time and effort into making these events possible, trail builders, marshals and event organizers for another epic year of enduro racing. we will see you all next season! In the mean time get rad on your bike!
Ps check back soon for Connor Fearon’s exclusive Inside Info where you get the words straight from the winner’s mouth!
That’s a wrap we are outta here!
Words Aaron Pelttari (Aaron would like to thanks Monza Imports, Bicycle Express & Bouwmeester Composites).
Images in this article from Kaneophoto (Instagram @kaneophoto) andA�RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
