Henderson and Ivory reign in Armidale
Rounds 3 and 4 of the MTBA XCO National Series ascended the tablelands to Armidale, where the New England MTB Club put on two stunning days of racing at the UNE grounds.
For the 2017 National Season, Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) eschewed many of the traditional venues for cross-country Olympic (XCO) events, and instead chose 3 locations for double-header rounds, to be complemented by the Oceania Championships in Toowoomba, and National Championships in Canungra. There would be no Mt Stromlo, no Pemberton, no Bright, no Mt Beauty, no You Yangs, no Lytserfield, no Eagle Park…
Instead, it was Orange, Armidale and Mt Taylor, each with two rounds. Some riders were upset. In part, as MTBA would only be hosting C3 level races (whic offer less prize money and less international ranking points) and that the locations weren't as easy to get to. It is hard to go past Mt Stromlo for ease of access, but Orange still attracted over 400 riders in early January, and this weekend at Armidale, it didn't look like the location a long way from a capital city had put many people off. There were almost 40 riders in U17, about 30 elite men and nearly 20 elite women. Plus other age groups and categories.
On the ground in Armidale
With race central right at the University of New England, riders had the option to stay on campus, or somewhere in town. With the airport just voer the hill, some riders flew in, others drove. Countless New Zealanders made the trip, including their whole Junior team, as Saturday's race was a Junior World Series event.
Saturday's course took in a long climb before sending riders down a swoopy descent and into a succession of techincal rock step ups, a rooty climb, and the major challenge – The Spine. A convoluted rock garden, getting through in one piece required highly accurate line selection, and changes of direction mid way through. The B line was seen to be safer by some, although it did add a climb.
A fast climb and descent through some pine forest, and a run back along a dam wall brought riders back to do it all again. It was a short but punishing lap.
After Rounds 1 and 2, all eyes were on Anna Beck, as to whether she could take another National Round win. But although local Holly Harris got the holeshot, Bec was first through and stayed at the front of the race. Beck was just behind and pushed hard, holding off Harris over 6 laps, with Eliza Kwan closing in quickly but finishing 4th.
In the Elite men, the field was stacked – but with a lot of the younger riders up from U23 really starting to fill out the ranks. Cam Ivory was active at the front and Brendan Johnston was close behind, followed by Tasman Nankers and EWS star Jared Graves just behind – Dan McConnell trailled in 5th.
McConnell would later crash and retire, and Ivory stayed in front to win the national round, with Johnston in 2nd, Graves in 3rd, NZ's Ben Oliver in 4th and Tasman Nankervis in 5th.
Full results from the day are online.
Day 2 in Armidale
Backing up for another XCO race is hard, and save for all the U15 and U17 riders, many had a little less spring in their step come Sunday morning. Jared Graves posted on social media that he'd headed home, and the course would be all-together different. With only 40m of climbing per lap, this course had lots of rock and technical challenges, with many riders uncertain about the 'Mars Attacks' A line.
Hot conditions greeted the first races onto the course, and lap times were far longer than on Saturday, a testament to how demanding the flatter course was.
In the Elite women's race a small group formed early, with Beck, Henderson and Harris. But Eliza Kwan was chasing hard behind, until on the 4th lap – she came through with Henderson on her wheel.
A gap to Harris had opened up, and then a gap to Beck. Could Eliza Kwan win her first national round? The two were wheel to wheel for the final lap, but a close sprint saw Henderson take her 2nd victory of the weekend.
In the Elite Men's race Ben Oliver took the lead with Johnston behind, and Ivory just further back. But Johnston was soon at the front, however Ivory got back and took his 2nd win for the weekend. Ben Oliver finished in 3rd with Tasman Nankervis 4th and Ben Bradley in 5th.
