Competition Report:

2005 NSW State Round 2, 10th April 2005

RAWNRG - Thredbo

With the first round out of the way, the NSW State Downhill Series moved to Thredbo for the second round. The weather reports leading up to the weekend looked good, and with good memories from the National race last December, quite a few people were heading down there.

The track was basically the same as the National round, but with a new section near the finish, instead of the switchbacks near tower 10, and with the start moved back up to the very top of the hill. As all those who have been to Thredbo know, the course designers really get their money’s worth from the mountain there, with almost continuous corners and rough, rocky singletrack from the top all the way to the bottom. Arm pump and sore, cramped hands are common after almost every run. However, practically know one crosses the finish line without a smile on their face, as the chairlift assisted downhill runs are always worth it.

Although the Interschools racing was held a few weeks ago, there were still heaps of kids there for this race. It is great to see so many younger riders getting into the downhill racing and having so much fun there with their friends. I’m sure there are big thanks for the parents who drive their offspring all the way to Thredbo for the race and, no doubt, fork out for a lot of the expenses. Although, seeing kids struggling through technical sections on bikes too big for them made me think that maybe they should ride BMX for a bit longer and further develop their skills until they can get a mountain bike that fits them.

At the end of practice on Saturday the organisers had put a ‘fun’ 4X race on the program. There was to be no entry fees, or prizes, but the racing was to be real. The only problem was the course. The organisers claim that when they put effort into the 4X, no one bothers to enter, so their motivation for putting effort into the course has waned, and we are left with a 4X track that is basically 2 flat corners before joining the last 100 meters of the DH track, which includes the wooden ‘garden bed’ section. Perhaps the problem is that by the time people drive to Thredbo for a downhill race, practice all day so that they can hardly move their hands, wrench their own bike so that it is ready for the next days racing, they are hardly ready to then enter another race where the potential for injury and mechanicals is quite high? Whatever, the racing was kinda fun to watch for those who stuck around, with racerhead Luke Strom winning after Adam Smithson’s chain got jammed.

So, to the main event. With most of the pro riders already heading over seas it was Ricky Boyer (Orange) and Adam Smithson (GT) who looked set to carry on the battle from last year, with supporting roles from Andrew Mills (Giant) and Brad Kelly (Cyclery Northside). Adding to the mix were Luke Patching and Adam Dossetor (Commencal) from Canberra, Amiel Cavalier (Giant) deciding to move up from Juniors early, and Luke Strom who is heading to the states in a few weeks and who had been living in Thredbo to train.

Practice on Saturday had been under sunny skies, but Sunday dawned with a little more cloud and the threat of a front moving in from the North. The wind was picking up at the top of the hill, cloud was obscuring the view of the higher peaks, and as race time drew closer the rain started to fall. But the showers were brief, and concern at racing in the mud disappeared as quickly as the fast moving clouds.

After a few organisational issues were sorted, like if there was going to be an Expert men’s class or not (there was) and how many would qualify from the Elite and Junior classes (15 from each), the racers started to be called to the top of the hill. The wind had dropped, although it was still cloudy, which meant it was just about perfect for racing. One by one the Castech official sent the riders down the hill, with few spectators to cheer them on, until the last few corners before the finish. Elite men went off first for their qualifying run with the times being at around the mid-six minute mark. There weren’t too many surprises although a few may have been holding back in case the rain did make an appearance at Final time. Adam Dossetor took the fastest time of 6.17, with Rick Boyer and Amiel Cavalier close behind. Smithson, Strom and Mills were still within easy striking distance though.

Next were the under 19’s and their times were not much slower than the Elite’s, although Tim Eaton and Hugh Mansfield (St Ives Cycles) were both a long way in front with a 6.30 and a 6.29 respectively.

There were 2 Elite women in attendance, and Claire Whiteman easily won over Joanne Fox, by a margin of 40 seconds

Expert men was one of the larger classes and saw Aaron Bashford win with a 6.45, followed a little way behind by Josh Boyd (Asterix).

The rest of the classes followed with no major dramas, except maybe in the Under 15’s where Shaun O’Connor won by nearly 30 seconds with a 6.46. I don’t know where Shaun is from, but that’s a good effort for a 14 year old. And the Senior hardtail class which was won by Rik Isaksen in a, not unreasonable, time of 7.48, but he was over a minute ahead of second place. Go the hardtail!

As the sun started filtering back through the clouds, smoke started drifting up the valley from back burning in Victoria, lending an uncertain quality to the light as the final riders ascended the hill for their Final runs. The tension was building at the bottom of the hill. Would Hugh Mansfield keep ahead of Tim Eaton? Would Ricky Boyer come from behind and get one up on Adam Smithson? Or would Luke Strom put his training to good use? Or would Andrew Mills surprise everyone? We would soon know. The Juniors times were a lot closer second time around, and second fastest qualifier, Tim Eaton took 12 seconds off his qualifier to come it at 6.18. Hugh Mansfield was already close to the finish. Would he go faster? He took 10 seconds off his qualifier, but it wasn’t enough. Tim Eaton took the win by 0.6 of a second.

The Elites started descending the hill and the times started dropping. Luke Patching took 10 seconds off his time to post a 6.21, but was soon beaten by a further 6 seconds by Adam Smithson. Luke Strom was next with a storming run of 6.12.07 which was 5 seconds faster than Dossetors fastest qualifier. Would it be enough? Andrew Mills was the next rider and was a few seconds off, with 6.14. Then came Amiel Cavalier who almost beat it, but was just 0.7 seconds outside, making Strom sweat. Rick Boyer followed, but was back in 6.15. The only remaining rider was the fastest qualifier, Adam Dossetor. Could he defeat the hard training and determined Luke Strom? Although he went 3 seconds faster than his first run, he was back in 3rd, with Strom taking the win!

It was a dramatic end to the racing, and Luke Strom summed it up with “I was a bit nervous when Amiel was coming down, as I couldn’t stand being beaten by a Junior” “Good On Ya” Luke and best of luck overseas for the next few months. And “Good On Ya” to everyone else who competed and had fun and, most of all, to those who went home nursing injuries. Get well soon and see you all at the next race!

Some photos of the event can be seen here: http://www.pixelpics.com.au/events.html

For full results, follow this link: http://forums.farkin.net/showpost.php?p=368163&postcount=1

Colin Batersby from Raw NRG did a lot of work to get the event running, along with a lot

of other volunteers. Thanks to them and also to the sponsors involved.

Next NSW State DH round is at Canberra on May 7th and 8th. Info can be seen at:

http://www.corc.asn.au/