Reef to Reef 2022 Day 2 - Davies Creek Drifts
Day 2 of the 2022 Reef to Reef saw rides amass at Davies Creek, between Kuranda and Mareeba in the Dry Tropics. Drifty singletrack and pinch climbs were the order of the day.
The 2022 Reef to Reef took to the tablelands today as riders tackled day two of the Queensland leg of the Epic MTB Series. After the singletrack sessions of Smithfield on day one, day 2 would be an entirely different affair. Davies Creek is in the Dry Tropics, so we all traded the rain forest canopy for sparse tree cover, grasses, termite mounds and pea gravel. And a few cow pats as well.
The day dawned clear and crisp, with car thermometers registering 7 degrees after we crested the range above Cairns and descended towards Davies Creek. The area is often forgotten by those visiting tropical north Queensland for a mountain bike trip, but it offers some flat out trial riding, with a few spicey rock slab lines thrown in if you know where to look.
As 8am approached, riders shrugged off their jackets and the sun's rays brough warmth to the race arena. It was time to get going!
After the time trial start waves yesterday with 20 second gaps, today was in wave starts with 5 minutes between each wave of about 40 riders. We had a long stretch of fire trail before ducking (sliding?) into a flat left hander into trail, but it meant the good vibes only policy from the first stage seemed to blanket over today as well.
At the front of the race, Brendan Johnston and Jon Odams were taking it to race leaders Tasman Nankervis and Alex Lack, pushing the pace to 25-30km/h on the fast singletrack
'We had to try something early as we lost so much time yesterday' said Brendan Johnston post-stage. 'On the first climb I just went and opened a gap to the other three, including Jon, and he was able to bridge across and put some pressure on the others.'
Johnston stated that the strategy worked a little bit, but there just wasn't quite enough distance in the race to have the impact they wanted.
'We got distanced on one of the climbs near the end… I'm pleased with the stage. I felt 10 times better than I did yesterday, so I'm happy to be feeling good. Jon maybe isn't feeling as good as yesterday – so we'll just take it day by day.'
Tasman and Alex put just over a minute into Johnston and Odams by the finish, strengthening their hold on the lead.
The next hottest race this year is Mixed Pairs. With the top 3 teams all sitting in the top 10 overall, you know the pace is pretty hot! While leaders Em Viotto and Karl Michelin-Beard won the stage, that's not the whole story. These two had a small gap early on, with Peta Mullens and Jarrod Moroni, Holly Harris and Mitch Docker (yes, that Mitch Docker), and Imogen Smith and myself all as a group on the second section of singletrack, as we climbed towards the singletrack descent.
Amidst the sound of tyres pushing on pea gravel, the 3 teams spread out and small gaps started to form on the rolling firetrail climb that came ahead. It was a case of a push here from team mates, or a pull there – but mostly about who could really capitalise on their strengths. On one climb about 15 minutes in, all 4 leading teams were in sight of each other, but it would break up a little more.
By race end, Mullens and Moroni stormed home just behind Em and Karl, with Holly and Mitch just behind to fill out the podium.
'I just wanted to ride my own race today,' said Em Viotto at the finish. 'Mitch and Holly caught us on the fireroad and they were flying, which kept us on our toes. Peta and Jarrod caught us in the last kilometre and they were motoring! Jarrod had a flat battery so was on a single speed – so it was good to bring it home.'
Open women's saw Anna Beck and Karen Hill win and place 13th overall, ahead of Two Girls, Two Bikes.
Full results for all teams and solo riders are online.
On the dirt at Davies Creek
Today really was totally different to the stage at Smithfield, showing how varied the riding in this end of Queensland is. The trails were best ridden fast, and the open terrain really promoted fast racing in a pairs event. It was a whole lot of fun, and with Davies Creek running near the event centre, it proved to be a great spot to wash the dust off and cool the legs ahead of the next two stages.
Tomorrow, we head to Mt Molloy, with 59km of riding on the agenda. There's a mix of farm trails, gravel road and singletrack, so positioning near the start will count, as will the ability to keep some punch in the legs for a fast finish.
You can see all the course details online.
All photos: Edward Kelly
