“Training is like fighting with a gorilla.
You don’t stop when you’re tired.
You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
Greg Henderson
Club kit is GO!
The Ventou portal for club kit is now open! Email Bruce for the password, then click this link to go to the Ventou website to order your kit.
We’ll use All Terrain Cycles as the address (somewhere central in town where you can collect it). Or you can pay a bit extra and have it sent straight to your address.
A BIG week for Dirt Critters
By Tim Ross
Dirt Critters enjoyed a Gravity Enduro night at Rifle Butts Reserve last Tuesday. Course setter Luke Vivash sent the younger kids down the Critters course, with Dayna clocking the fastest time. He then set the older kids a course from the very top of the hill. Not sure what tracks they used but there were some astonishingly quick descents over the two passes, with Blake just pipping Micah for fastest time with Cooper, Miles and Jarrah hot on his heels.
A large group of kids from Mansfield Steiner School participated in the Falls Creek MTB inter-schools on Friday. This is a well-organised and fun event on a great XC course. Cheered on by enthusiastic parents, all the kids gave 100% and enjoyed their races.
Podiums to Ruby Rademaker, Rueben Bateup, Keeva Morris-Webb and Edwin Morphett.
Coming up is the next race in the Alpine Cycling Club’s Junior MTB series. This time it’s at Albury’s Nail Can Hill track and takes the form of a Gravity Enduro next Saturday 9 March. As we’ve noted before, this series is well-organised and participation focused. And inexpensive, with just $10 entry.
Dirt Crits Gravity… finally!
By Kate Stonnill
Senior Dirt Crits finally had another Gravity Enduro night on the 27th after the last one had to be cancelled due to weather.
Zac Empey designed a new course, with a new starting point. He said the top section was quite technical but otherwise was a very fast track. All riders rode the downhill track twice, and interestingly the older the rider the bigger the improvement on the second run down.
It was great to see the return of some of the younger riders. With 18 riders in total the more technical track definitely seemed to favour the more experienced downhillers. The timed descents were added together for one total time.
Sadly Will Anderson took a wrong turn at the top of the first run and designed his own adventure.
Adam Baker and Luke Vivash came in 6th and 7th respectively. The Podium was then followed with Rueben Bateup in 5th (3:25), Zac Empey 4th (3:24), Archie Smith 3rd (3:17), Shannon Rademaker 2nd (3:16) and the top step being easily won by Ant Bateup in 1st with a time of 3min :11sec.
Ariel Baker again flying the banner for female mountain bikers.
The usual contest between Dave Bock and Steve Curnow continued again this week, with Bocky edging in front for the first time. Steve was possibly still recovering from his win at the Otway Odyssey on the weekend. Well done Steve.
A cool change, new course, some new faces, a couple of returning ones, plus old dogs with no tricks.
By David Bock
A drop in temperature to a pleasant 26*C, in the hour before Thursday’s race, was welcomed by the twenty two competitors gathered beside the cemetery, preparing to race. The 23 km course, consisting of two and a bit laps of the Stoneleigh Road - Merinda Way - Monkey Gully Road circuit, hadn`t been used for the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club`s Thursday evening racing before, so was something of an unknown quantity, particularly for the Handicapper. A slight wind also added to the uncertainty.
Two Dave`s, Dave Jagger, and Dave Bock, were the first to set off, as the Limit group, for the faster riders to try to chase down.
The next pair off consisted of Janine Appleton, racing after a bit of a hiatus, and Ethan Nealon, racing with the Club for the first time.
The following group splintered early, losing first Craig Wilson, then Steve Curnow. After dropping Adam Baker, Adrian Dowd and Ryan Schultz were able to work together for a while, before Ryan proved too strong and pulled away, so they all continued on solo.
Working more effectively as a group were Darren Bakker, Steve Duke, Mick Pearce, Carl Simmons, and Dave Moore, in his first race for a year or so.
The fastest competitors set off as two groups of four, the Block group of Bruce Halket, Dave Empey, Chris McKnight, and Chris Miller, having a two and a half minute head start over the Scratch bunch of Jake Lay, Talia Appleton, Dan Purcell, and Andy Garrett.
On the uphill run to the finish line, still clear of the chase, Dave Jagger opened up a ten second gap on Bocky, to take the win, not far ahead of a bunch sprint of seven, charging for third place. Ethan Nealon claimed that prize, ahead of Darren Bakker, Carl Simmons, Mick Pearce, Steve Duke, Adrian Dowd, and Ryan Schultz.
Just over thirty seconds later, Dave Moore crossed, to round out the top ten, five seconds in front of Dan Purcell, who claimed fastest time, crossing with Jake Lay.
Many thanks to the Commissaire, Allan Gerrans, and all the other officials and to Tony Copland for his images, below.
Here are the results.
Next week it’s the Barwite Loop.
With only three race left, the top ten of the current point score for the Summer Road Race Series sees Darren Bakker leading on 105 points ahead of this week’s winner, Dave Jagger on 81. They’re followed by Ruby Dobson on 78, Bruce Halket - 76, Jake Lay - 67, Andy Garrett - 65, Mick Pearce - 63, Tim Ross - 61, then Steve Curnow and Adrian Dowd on 59.