Andy Blair Sets The Pace At The Inaugural Port to Port MTB

Andy Blair on the sandy double track in Tomaree National Park

As the sun shone down on the idyllic Nelson Bay Marina, riders from all over Australia gathered for the first stage of the inaugural Port to Port MTB.

Kicking off for the 39km race late morning, riders rolled out of Nelson Bay Marina along the road heading towards the Lighthouse. It was not long before the huddled pack began to spread as riders approached the scenic bay tracks in Tomaree National Park.

It was here that Swell Specialized rider and Cape to Cape MTB three time champion Andy Blair broke from the pack together with TORQ Team young gun Chris Hamilton. Blair’s frustrations in trying to break away through the sand lingered as Hamilton stuck by him by “floating along the sand” according to Andy.

With the rest of the pack not far behind, the two leaders pushed through as the notorious Vertical Beach loomed ahead. On approach, both dismounted their bikes, shouldered them and climbed their way up the forty metre dune.

“With longer legs I thought maybe I could run up there quicker than him (Hamilton) so I managed to get a gap there and hold onto it,” recalled Blair. “I kind of had a fair bit of confidence I could go along with it because I thought I’m a bit bigger and stronger.”

Winner winner chicken dinner Jenny Fay and Any Blair

Once Hamilton saw Blair running up the hill and got the gap on him, he knew he couldn’t close it from there. “He had a really strong ride through the sand and pumped it out. I gotta say I haven’t done a lot of running with my bike before so maybe that is something to work on,” said the 19-year-old Hamilton.

The section through the dunes was the difference in the end with Blair finishing with a 2 minute, 51 second lead on his nearest competitor. “I’ve got a pretty good lead, so tomorrows probably the stage that has a fair bit of potential for me to be put under pressure, being the hillier stage,” said Blair who crossed the finish line on a high.

Commanding the lead from the ladies, was Cape to Cape 2012 and 2013 champion Jenny Fay, who was expecting this day to be her toughest. “The sand was really technical for me. I did a lot of work at the start trying to get the group working so we could get a good pace,” said the Swell Specialized Team Member at the Finish Line.

The Port to Port MTB begins at the idyllic Nelson Bay Marina, where riders are greeted by four days of scenic tracks, fire trails, testing hill climbs, fast single track and steep descents through the Hunter Valley then onto the Newcastle Region. The second stage tomorrow begins and finishes at the famed Lindemans Estate in the Hunter Valley.