KING AND QUEEN OF THE BIKE BULLER MTB FESTIVAL 2014 PREVAIL

Will Geor and April McDonough, both of iRide Bikes, finished off in style taking out the overall crowns of the three-day Bike Buller MTB Festival, presented by Kona.

Geor and McDonough both recorded the fastest cumulative time across the three Premier Category races for male and female, to claim their King and Queen Champion Crowns, despite finishing the final stage three, the Corn Hill Cranker 22km XC, in second and fourth respectively.

“I felt good today, but I didn’t want to blow up with only a 3 minute lead going into the final stage, so I took it a bit careful, especially descending down misty twist.” Geor said. “But as we came into the finish, Joey (Esterhuyzen) and I could see third place coming up, so we pushed a bit more and I wanted to ensure Joey got the stage win.”

Esterhuyzen pinched the Stage 3 win, just one second ahead of Geor in 1:17:08, with third place young-gun Bryan Dunkin finishing strongly in third just another second back.

The weekend saw many a hard fought battle in the men’s premier category, particularly between Geor and Esterhuyzen, who had never heard of each other until things got underway during Stage 1.

“We figured out on Stage 1 that when I tried to get away from Will (Geor), he kept up; but then he’d be doing the same to me, so we realised we weren’t going to get rid of each other and decided to work together.” Said Esterhuyzen. “Over the three days, we both ended up working to maintain each other’s lead; Will helped me today, and I helped him on Saturday during Stage 1.”

Esterhuyzen said today’s stage was a close call.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to take the overall weekend lead off Will after his dominating ride yesterday; but with third place catching up to us, I thought I’d just go for it after that last pinch climb and managed to get a cap on both of them – but it was really close! It almost didn’t go to plan!” Said Esterhuyzen.

In the women’s field, Jody Bush of Tasmania took line honours in Stage 3, however it wasn’t enough for her to take the overall premier category crown, finishing runner-up to April McDonald.

“I knew I’d have to get April (McDonough) on the climbs today because she’s a better descender, so I just went out hard from the start.” Said Bush. “I really liked the Corn Hill climb out the back because it suits my style of riding; I’m really happy with the Stage win today.”

McDonough proved she was all class, as she rode into fourth place on Stage 3, but still managed to hold on to the overall Premier Category lead for the weekend.

“I was glad I had a reasonable lead after Stage 2, because I’m a stronger descender than climber, so I knew today was going to hurt.” Said McDonough. “I was happy to have a little bit of a buffer and I just tried to hold on.”

“It’s the first time I’ve done all three events (the premier category). It’s an awesome weekend of riding with so much single track – I’ll definitely be back for another good weekend of solid riding.” Added McDonough.

Race organisers were impressed with all riders who conquered Mt Buller’s world class trails this weekend.

“Everyone who conquers all three stages deserves a medal just for finishing because it’s known as some of the hardest, yet most rewarding terrain in Australia,” said Sam Maffett, Event Director.

Rounding out the podium of the Premier Category was Bryan Dunkin in third for the males; and Amity McSwan taking third place ahead of 3 x World MTB Solo Marathon Champion Jess Douglas in the female Premier Category.

Overall, a great weekend had by all at Mt Buller in the Victorian Alps, with 500 riders across all age groups from Junior (U18) to Masters in the 60 plus category enjoying a weekend of good trails and good vibes.

STAGE 3 RESULTS – 22km XC

Male

1. Joey Esterhuyzen 1:17.08

2. Will Geor 1:17.09

3. Bryan Dunkin 1:17.10

Female

1. Jody Bush 1:32.16

2. Amity McSwan 1:33.48

3. Jess Douglas 1:34.32

Full results and information can be found here