With no Dirt Crits held this week, due to Melbourne Cup Day, instead of an article about what happened at Dirt Crits, here’s an article about Matthew Empey’s recent ‘holiday’ in Europe.
Matt Empey at the IXS European Cup
Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club member Matthew Empey recently travelled to Europe to race the last four races of the IXS European Downhill Cup.
Matthew competed in four races held in three countries. The first race was held in Schoneck, Northern Germany. Arriving early allowed him to train for four days in the Czech Republic before the race. Race day was wet and slippery on a short course with very little margin for error. Matthew qualified in fifth position. Race runs were tight with 1.5 seconds separating the first four placegetters. Matthew finished the day in fourth position.
The next race was in Brandnertal, Austria. The race track was steep, littered with tree roots and huge gaps. The course was daunting to say the least. Race day was dry and fast. A mistake on race run in the first corner cost Matthew, as he ended up in 19th position.
The third race was the German National Championships in Thale. The course was long, flat and fast with huge road gaps. Race day was wet and slippery after a week of dry weather. Matthew qualified in 9th position. Race run was interrupted by a flash storm which dumped 20mm of rain on the U/19 Pro field causing chaos. Matt ended up in 7th position. Another excellent result.
The last race was the Swiss Downhill Cup in Bellwald, Switzerland. Again, a different course this one being steep rocky and very very fast. The fastest riders clocking speeds up to 80 km/h. No rain at this race, however’ it did snow on the track walk and practice day. Race day was dry and fast. Matt qualified in 8th position and improved to 7th position in the final.
Matthew gained enough points with the top ten finishes to qualify for next year’s world cups. This was an amazing effort by Matthew as he raced totally unsupported in Europe. He raced in the Elite Pro U/19 age group where all the riders are fully sponsored and supported by large bike brands. To achieve World Cup Qualification status in just four races is an amazing achievement, as there are 20 races in the IXS Cup. Matthew is now looking forward to racing the upcoming Australian Downhill season.
Winter Weather for Road Race
By Jarrod Appleton
Despite cold and wet weather 20 riders still contested the Jamieson Kevington handicap road cycling race last Thursday. Prior to the race a number of riders were campaigning to call off the race and have an extended social evening at the Jamieson Brewery. But the hardcore stalwarts quashed their dissent, shaming them into silence, in a fashion Xi Jinping would have applauded.
The rain eased temporarily just prior to the race which gave the riders time to have a brief warm up. The handicapper had the field structured with some interesting time gaps. Last week’s winner Alex Green was moved back two minutes and two groups as a consequence of his success. And the overall time gap between Limit (the first riders to start) and Scratch (the last and fastest riders to start) suggested there was an opportunity for a faster rider to win for the first time this season.
Soon after the start of the race the rain increased to a steady, moderate level. The combination of rain from above and spray from the rear wheel of the rider ahead meant everyone was soaked through from early on. It was one of those occasions where athletes knuckle down and get the race done as fast as possible, not for the pleasure of competing, but rather for the pleasure of getting warm and dry after the race.
Despite this race offering the best scenery of any of the circuits the club uses, nobody was able to admire any of it. The concentration required to safely sit a few centimetres from the wheel of the rider ahead, while being constantly sprayed in the face by water precludes any sightseeing.
Placings on the evening from first were Jarrod Appleton, Darren Bakker, Talia Appleton, Bruce Halket and Steve Duke. Fastest male was Steve Brown and fastest female was Talia Appleton.
Special thanks to the volunteer marshals and commissaires who also had to deal with the inclement weather. Without dedicated generous people who give their time willingly, sports like bicycle racing couldn’t happen. If you would like to assist the club by helping as a marshal, and by doing so get a ringside seat at the race, please get in touch with MMBCC. None of the jobs are difficult or require any prior experience.
Here are the results. Tony’s camera threw a wobbly in the wet but he’s managed to salvage a few pics.
AusCycling Open Letter
Here’s an Open Letter from AusCycling, signed by quite a few noteable cycling identities.
And after the Cycling Victoria AGM on the weekend, CV has announced that Victorian clubs have voted YES to AusCycling - 87.5% voted in favour.
STOP PRESS - MMBCC at Barjarg
Three members of the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club raced the 1st VDHS downhill race at Barjarg this weekend. The three participants, Maddison Smith, Elise Empey and Matthew Empey all performed extremely well.
The Barjarg downhill track is one of the toughest tracks in Australia; littered with rock gardens, drops, chutes and technical traverses.
The three junior riders punched well above their weight, with Elise winning Elite Women by 19 seconds and Maddison placing fourth in Elite Women (Maddison is only 13). Matthew competed in the very competitive U/19 Junior Men and finished 4th, less than one second behind third.
The next round of the VDHS series will be held at Narbethong. If any juniors are wanting to have a go at a Downhill race this would be a good one to start with.
