Barnes and MacMunn secure Gravity Enduro Series

The final round of the Australia-wide Gravity Enduro Series was hosted by the Cairns Mountain Bike Club at Smithfield on the weekend. The local rider Berend Boer from Holloways Beach stood his ground and a gripping finish against the Series Leader Dan MacMunn from Spring Gully (VIC) resulted in a tie between the two riders. In the elite women’s division, Genevieve McKew from Sydney won aheaed of Rosemary Barnes, whose second place brought her enough series points to claim the overall win.

With some of the club’s strongest riders at the start of the final Australia-wide Gravity Enduro Series, more than a two thirds of the competitors had come from interstate – as the series leader, Dan MacMunn was the strongest contender for the Elite Men’s win against fellow Victorians Ben Randall and Ryan De La Rue. Canberra’s Rosemary Barnes had travelled to tropical Cairns to claim her title with a lead of more than 600 points ahead of Sydney’s Genevieve McKew, Vanessa Thompson and Kath Bicknell.

Cairns trails demand endurance and technical riding skills

The local Cairns Mountain Bike Club had put on six timed stages with neutral transition rides to the race starts. “Everything went really smoothly. These are the types of events we need and that we enjoy hosting – we were really happy to meet so many interstate riders that we could show off our fantastic trail network to”, said the club event manager, Craig Nissen.

In the elite men’s division it was a tight race from the first stage to the last. Over two days the final sixth stage was going to decide the race and it ended up in a tie to the second – both Dan MacMunn and the 27-year old local rider Berend Boer finished in 19:13 minutes. With an unfortunate crash right ahead of the finish, Rhys Atkinson from nearby Kewarra Beach still finished third with a gap of 24 seconds. As a precaution he had to be transported to hospital via ambulance due to a suspected concussion and was later cleared of any further serious injuries.

First gravity enduro elite series titles go to Victoria and New South Wales

The shared first place was still enough for the overall series title for Dan MacMunn. The 32-year-old fire fighter had participated in five out of the six series events and said that the final QLD round turned out to be his favourite. “The types of trails we got to ride and race here over the weekend are just ideal and a really fitting way to conclude this awesome series. It was tough, but exciting racing and I’m proud of my overall title”, he said.

The four elite women at the start agreed that they enjoyed the event and riding the trails together. “Some of those neutral rides to the starts were really tough – just steep and long, but the descents and timed stages were just so rewarding”, said women’s series winner Rosemary Barnes, who added that she was hopeful for more women to compete in these types of events in future. “We’ll spread the word until next year about how much fun they are”, she said.

More than 550 riders had participated in the series, which included events in NSW, VIC, SA, WA, ACT and QLD, covering almost all states and territories.

“We’re really proud that with our partner Alpine Gravity and our hosting clubs we were able to deliver this first all-Australian gravity enduro series to our riders. The rounds included a wide variety of trails and race formats and we are looking forward to a strong 2015 season”, said Rocky Trail’s Martin Wisata, who had travelled to Cairns from Sydney to support the hosting club for the final series event.

Full QLD race and series results are available via www.rockytrailentertainment.com

All Photos: Kenneth Lorentsen

(for high-res photos, please contact Juliane at Rocky Trail Entertainment)

Genevieve McKew was the fastest elite woman of the weekend.

Rosemary Barnes claimed the overall elite women’s series title.

Dan MacMunn, ex-aequo in the race, winner of the overall series.

Berend Boer, the local rider who finished on equal race time with series winner Dan MacMunn.

Elite Men’s series podium (l-r): Ben Randall (4th), Simon Buzacott (2nd), Dan MacMunn (1st), Ryan De La Rue (3rd) – absent: Ben Cory (5th).

Elite Women’s series podium (l-r): Martin Wisata (Rocky Trail), Genevieve McKew (3rd), Rosemary Barnes (1st), Vanessa Thompson (2nd), Kath Bicknell (5th) – absent: Jaclyn Schapel (4th).

Top Results QLD Round

11+12 October 2014

Elite Male

1. Berend Boer [#117] // Discovery cycles-TREK // Holloways Beach QLD // 19:13 min

1. Dan MacMunn [#112] // Yetioz-Shimanoaust-Schwalbe-My Mountain // Spring Gully VIC // 19:13 min

3. Rhys Atkinson [#115] // Specialized, Sram, fjc clothing, Fektor // Kewarra Beach QLD // 19:37 min // + 24 sec

4. Ryan De La Rue [#130] // Specialized AU Lusty Industries // Colac VIC // 20:18 min // +1:05 min

5. Ben Randall [#119] // My Mountain // Hurstbridge VIC // 21:24 min // +2:11 min

Elite Female

1. Genevieve McKew [#128] // Knolly Australia, Endless Flow Cycles, Fox Australia // Chatswood NSW // 24:24 min

2. Rosemary Barnes [ #127] // Onyabike, Swell Design Group // Lyneham ACT // 26:19 min // +1:55 min

3. Vanessa Thompson [#124] // Single tracks Banshee // Yanderra NSW // 27:24 min // +3 min

4. Kath Bicknell [#129] // Roxsolt // Sydney NSW // 29:06 min // +4:42 min

Overall Results Series 2014

Elite Male

1. Dan MacMunn // Yetioz-Shimanoaust-Schwalbe-My Mountain // Spring Gully VIC // 2720 pts

2. Simon Buzacott // Focus Bikes, Dissent labs, ion // Somerton Park SA // 1800 pts

3. Ryan De La Rue // Specialized AU Lusty Industries // Colac VIC // 1490 pts

4. Ben Randall // My Mountain // Hurstbridge VIC // 1270 pts

5. Ben Cory // Giant Bicycles, SRAM, RockShox, OnyaBike, Vans // Kambah ACT // 1100 pts

Elite Female

1. Rosemary Barnes // Onyabike, Swell Design Group // Lyneham ACT // 2540 pts

2. Vanessa Thompson // Single tracks Banshee // Yanderra NSW // 2240 pts

3. Genevieve McKew // Knolly Australia, Endless Flow Cycles, Fox Australia // Chatswood NSW // 1700 pts

4. Jaclyn Schapel // LivAustralia:4Shaw:Adidas Eyewear:Torq Nutrition // Adelaide SA // 1520 pts

5. Kath Bicknell // Roxsolt // Sydney NSW // 1220 pts

Series winners in remaining categories:

Expert Male (B-Grade): Anthony Elliot // Wallaroo NSW // 1200 pts

Junior Under 19 Male: Aaron Felton // Sans Souci // 1020 pts

Junior Under 17 Male: Jarrod Murphy // Mount Marha VIC // 2301 pts

Veterans Male (30+): Michael Clarke // Seaham NSW // 1640 pts

Sport Male (C-Grade): Damien Brombal // 720 pts

Master Male: Joshua Lester // Westgate NSW // 2040 pts

SuperMaster Male: David Empey // Maindample VIC // 2400 pts

Junior Under 15 Male: Lachlan Clarke / Seaham NSW // 2290 pts