Australian Marathon MTB Championships

Australian national champions Melissa Anset and Andy Blair

A tough, testing track at Mt Joyce, Queensland, delivered Australia’s 2014 National Marathon MTB Champions on Sunday 6^th April. Andy Blair (Swell-Specialized) and Melissa Anset (Iride Rocky Mountain) have been crowned champions, in a race that was a true test of mountain bike skills, strength, stamina and experience.

The technical 24km course had about 900m of climbing per lap, and was heavy with singletrack, punctuated by two long climbs and long singletrack descents.

The men’s race had a fast start that saw Andy Blair lead with Cory Wallace into the singletrack, but by the top of the first climb, at around 11km, Blair lead into the descent and was alone out front from there.

Elite mens start

“The course is amazing. Because we’ve all come from out of town we were getting more familiar with the course as the race progressed. It was really fun on the first few laps – trying to build a lead and ride the downhills with as little brakes as possible” said Blair, who was champion in 2012, and now again will need to ask his sponsors for some updated kit in green and gold. We’re certain they will oblige.

Although the heat really kicked in early, Blair managed to build on his lead, and finished with over 8 minutes on his team mate Shaun Lewis, with Adrian Jackson 2 minutes furhter behind. Defending champion Jason English finished 4^th, and Dylan Cooper was in 5^th.

Elite Womens Podium

Elite women started 15 minutes after the men, which gave them a clear run of the course, and kept both fields separate for much of the race. While not a huge bunch, it was competitive, with Fay, Anset, Terri Rhodes and Jodie Willett away together for the first lap. Jenny Fay, the current Irish National XCM Champion, rode away after the first lap, and continued to ride to a commanding victory.

“It’s always important to win a marathon in Australia, especially up here I was definitely pushing my limits. The girls are really strong, so whoever wins is definitely going to be a worthy jersey-holder for the year. It was a very tough race!” said Fay post race.

Irish champion Jenny Fay

After establishing a slight advantage on a difficult climb and with the Irishwoman ineligible  for the Championship jersey, Anset grabbed the opportunity to break away and built a sizeable time gap by the end of the second lap. Despite cramping midway through the third, Anset held on to take the green and gold jersey.

“It’s an amazing course – really fun. No rests though unfortunately, you’re always either climbing or descending and working the upper body a lot.” This sentiment by Anset mirrored many who completed the race – there were a lot of tired looking people at the end of the day.

Melissa Anset

The Real Insurance XCM Series continues with the Wombat 100 in Woodend next Sunday, before the riders head to Atherton for the Tablelands Classic on April 25.

The conditions were fierce and took their toll on many in the women’s field, Terri Rhodes crossed for 3^rd place as a monstrous Queensland storm hit, with Imogen Smith a few minutes back in 4^th, followed by Naomi Williams in 5^th.

Full results are available on the Subaru MTB National Season page : http://mtb.subaru.com.au/marathon-championships/results/

Reports from MarathonMTB.com: http://www.marathonmtb.com/2014/04/06/real-xcm-2-australian-marathon-mtb-championships/

Video from Cycling Central: http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/news/53698/Blair-and-Anset-win-Australian-marathon-titles

Video from Real Insurance: http://cycling.realinsurance.com.au/video-australian-mountain-bike-marathon-championships/