Canberra riders dominate on Mogo’s magic trails

Mountain bikers from across NSW converged on the picturesque South Coast town of Mogo which, through the efforts of the Eurobodalla Cyclists club, boasts a course that had riders raving and grinning from ear to ear.

The second round of the Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series had to be rescheduled from its earlier date in June due to poor weather but race day dawned clear, cool and still – perfect conditions for racing as over 250 riders lined up for 4 or 7 hours of riding on beautifully built and maintained trails. While the course at Mogo is undoubtedly tough with over 300 metres of vertical gain per lap, all that effort has two very worthwhile payoffs, the fast, flowing and bermed descents of AST and the legendary Snake Track!

Replicating his blistering start in Round 1 was Bateman’s Bay local Jack Lavis, first into the singletrack and again followed by former solo men’s series winner Ed McDonald. At the conclusion of the first lap it was still Lavis leading from McDonald but especially impressive was 14 year old Ben Metcalfe coming in 3^rd overall, riding for the Alltrack Bicycles junior team. Ben would also go on to record the 2^nd fastest lap of the whole event, a very impressive feat against a high quality field.

Numbers in the new 4 hour solo categories continue to grow with 70 riders for this round. The women’s open category was especially well contested with 8 riders which made for very close and competitive racing. Eva Boland led from the start but behind her it was a frenetic battle between Gemma Ansell, Amy Fletcher and Melissa Nuttall, positions were swapped throughout the race and in the end only one minute covered 2^nd to 4^th place. Boland took the win, saying “That was my first 4 hour, it was awesome. I kind of hit the wall after about 3 and a half hours, then grovelled home, but that Snake Track made it all worthwhile.”

Josh Battye won the junior category, Brian “Big Dog” Price the open men, Wayne Dickinson triumphed against a large field in the Masters men as did Ray Giddins in the Super Masters and Katrina Skellern took out the Masters Women.

The 7 hour categories were no less exciting, the Masters pairs coming down to the wire with only 1 minute and 18 seconds separating the all three podium places. The Chocolate Foot Women’s Development team dominated the Female Pairs with two teams making the podium only separated by the ever-consistent Short Circuit Cancer team.

The Onya Bike team of Lewis Cressy and Brad Morton took control early in the Male Pairs category, the team of Tristan Webber and Anthony Murfett gave chase all day but Onya Bike slipped into transition just before the cut-off to allow them to record another lap.

The long distance solo riders in the 7 hour categories saw many familiar names rise to the top of the leaderboard. Ed McDonald never relinquished his grip on the lead but Andrew Lloyd was locked in battle with Callum McNamara who was using a rigid, singlespeed bike for this round. The less-than-ideal equipment possibly contributed to McNamara slipping to 3^rd place by day’s end. Eliza Kwan stormed the Female solo category ahead of former series champion Liz Smith and Wendy Stevenson. “Tough but fun, there was just enough climbing to make it hurt but the Snake Track was always something to look forward to” said Kwan.

After just missing out on the top step of the podium on numerous occasions, David Langley finally cracked the win in the Masters Men and Garry James had a comfortable win in the Super Masters.

The Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series moves to slightly warmer climes for round 3 and the renowned trails of the Awaba MTB Park near Newcastle on 3 August. It marks the halfway point in the Series and it’ll be a valuable opportunity to get ahead in the overall rankings.

Chocolate Foot would like to thank their incredibly generous sponsors, Finish Line, Serfas, Deuter, Bellwether, SRAM, Rock Shox, Avid, Truvativ, Hammer Nutrition, Rockpool Graphics, James Estate, Cycology, Ventou, Aussie Butt Cream, Cycle Studio, Kobie International, Mountain Biking Australia magazine, Ritchey and Grimm-Hewitt art.

Top 3 Category Results

4hr Male Junior

1 Josh Battye

2  Blake Shergold

3  Roly Stewart

4hr Male Super Master

1  Ray Giddins

2  Ian King

3  David Eccles

4hr Female Master

1  Katrina Skellern

2  Veronica Russell

4hr Male Master

1  Wayne Dickinson

2  Trent Moore

3  Andrew Bryant

4hr Open Female

1  Eva Boland

2  Gemma Ansell

3  Amy Fletcher

4hr Open Male

1  Brian Price

2  David Roberts

3  Graham Nisbet

7hr Juniors

1  Alltrack Juniors

2  K3s

3  M Town

7hr Fab Fours

1  The Burning Quads

2  Gorillas In The Mist

7hr Mixed Threes

1  Berm Baby Berm

7hr Masters Threes

1  SXC Racing Masters 3’s

2  Tyred and cranky

3  PSR

7hr Female Threes

1  Cranky Sisters

7hr Male Threes

1  Onya Glenno

2  POC Bikeculture Whyte

3  DG Cycles / health.com.au

7hr Male Super Master Solo

1  Garry James

2  Graeme Scott

3  John Van Den Ham

7hr Male Master Solo

1  David Langley

2  Ian Bridgland

3  Paul Thompson

7hr Open Female Solo

1  Eliza Kwan

2  Liz Smith

3  Wendy Stevenson

7hr Open Male Solo

1  Edward McDonald

2  Andrew Lloyd

3  Callum McNamara

7hr Masters Pairs

1  Turner and Hooch

2  Forty plus frothers

3  BBC-SHIMANO

7hr Female Pairs

1  Chocolate Footed Fairy Penguins

2  Short Circuit Chix

3  Chocolate Foot Pocket Rockets

7hr Male Pairs

1  Team ONYA Giant

2  ANU Cycling Club

3  McGiant

7hr Mixed Pairs

1  Bike Culture ACT

2  Mr & Mrs Pollock

Photos: Dave Bateman