At a time when Eastern Australia was all but hibernating; waiting out rain-soaked weeks until the trails would dry; Stromlo Forest Park and Rocky Trail Entertainment chose the single sun-bathed weekend to hold instalment number four of the National Gravity Enduro Series for 2014. A fresh series which encompasses some of the best aspects of Mountain Biking, Mt Stromlo invited seasoned pros, elite racers, ‘roadies’, weekend warriors, families and mates to ride it’s much-loved trail network. This is their story (ha!).
With A & B lines throughout, the Enduro series really is the most accessible form of racing for the intermediate mountain biker.Berm lovers were in their element on the Luge trail, with switchback after switchback this section called for riders to push their cornering technique!One word: LUGE.The event centre from near to the top of the trails. Just under 200 riders and another event in the park had the carpark at capacity. The event hosted many stores and sponsors including DHARCO, Knolly Bike, and long time Rocky Trail sponsors JetBlack Racing.During practice the social side of the event came to light. Here riders of all categories reach a plateau in the only timed fire trail section.Whether talking lines or last night’s hilarities, the start area held a casual, fun vibe as riders spread out and started their pre-race run routines.
With a gruelling fire trail ascent halfway through Trail 1 (Vapour, DH, Luge) time was won and lost as riders fought the gradient for pace.Mens Elite Podium: 1: Ben Cory / 11:35 2: Dan MacMunn / +10s 3: Dylan Cooper / +19s 4: Tim Eaton / +21s 4: Ryan Walsch / +21sWomens Elite Podium: 1: Rosemary Barnes / 13.33 2: Claire Whiteman / + 3s 3: Jaclyn Shapel / + 9s 4: Vanessa Thompson / +51s 5: Kath Bicknell / + 63sLadies and Gentlemen, your Elite Series Leaders after Australian Gravity Enduro #5 2014, Rosemary Barnes & Dan MacMunn. Will they take the top step in Smithfield, Cairns, QLD? Be there on October 11/12 for 6 stages of Enduro racing awesomeness. Hit www.rockytrailentertaiment.com for info.
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Troy Brosnan racing the second enduro race of his career, both have been in his home town of Adelaide!
Round 3 of the Australian Gravity Enduro Series rolled into Adelaide over a quiet weekend in May, with around 140 riders competing it was another good turn out for the series with good racing across the classes. The event was made up of 4 timed stages with 2 loops to get riders around. Surprisingly there were no major injuries considering how quick riders were going, especially on the ‘steep’ sections. Some unlucky riders did run into kangaroos on Saturday whilst out at Fox practicing but nothing major.
A few stray kangaroos on course were the only real concern for most riders who were practicing Friday and Saturday. Stage 3 was a new trail and only cut in for this event.
Of the 4 stages 3 were pre-existing tracks and there was a good mix of stages that required a combination of fitness and technical skills. Stage 2 was the same track as used in the South Australian downhill state series so it was fast and suited the more technical riders. Stage 3 was new for the event and one of the most challenging aspects for riders was how it changed between Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Being brand new it bedded in as the weekend wore on (excuse the pun!), there was a lot of almost powdery like dust to be had on this stage. Stage 4 was a bit of a rider favourite (check out the intense competition on Strava!) A�’Green Smoothie’, this trail is really fun to ride with big flowing corners and jumps if you were keen. Most tracks were pretty dry as the weather leading into the event was unseasonably warm in Adelaide.
There was something over the four stages for all riders. Sam Hardie showing the physical effort!
Showing that local knowledge pays off, both the men’s and women’s podiums had Adelaideans (that’s a real thing right?!) on the top step. Troy Brosnan was the favourite coming into the weekend but with riders like Dan MacMunn, who are veterans of the relatively young enduro scene, it wasn’t going to be a cake walk for Troy. We had a chat to Troy about his weekend and this is what he had to say “I was using the event for training and to ride with some of my Adelaide mates. I made sure I climbed all the ascents before the stages”. Troy raced on his 29er S-Works Enduro bike and in only his second enduro event he took the win! What makes it even more impressive was the fact Troy didn’t practice on Friday & Saturday unlike some other riders and therefore rode stage 3 completely blind as it was created for this event. “It was hard to know where to push as I was going in blind but this stage had less pedalling and there was fresh dirt”, for the record Troy got second on that stage.
Get your speed tuck on, Troy Brosnan winner of round 3.
Talking about second, there was initially a draw for second place between Simon Buzzacott and Dan McMunn as the timing system couldn’t differentiate riders by larger than the closest second. In the end Simon claimed second as he had the fastest time on the last stage. Talk about close racing! In the women it was Jackie Schapel who used her fitness, skills and local knowledge to full effect taking the win.
Second place for Simon Buzacott, it was close though with a countback to the last stages’ results required to determine the 2nd place getter!
Elite Men
1. Troy Brosnan
2. Simon Buzacott
3. Dan MacMunn
4. Dave West
5. Cameron Ryan
Elite Women
1. Jaclyn Schapel
2. Genevieve Mckew
3. Rosemary Barnes
4. Vanessa Thompson
5. Alyssa Lyons
Jackie Schapel off and into the stage, eventually claiming the overall title win for round 3.
That wraps up this round, the next race is scheduled for June 29th in Western Australia at Mount Gunjin.
