Wrapping up Chittering

The Battle for the West was hotly contested this weekend in round three of the National Enduro Series, with interstate riders, Ben Cory from the ACT and Shannon Hewetson from Victoria taking out first and third respectively while local WA rider Luke Ball finished second in the Elite Male racing category. 

Cory rode well over the five stages, never winning a stage outright  but consistent enough to take the win over Luke Ball by only one second after 15 minutes of timed racing. Luke was looking to be the likely winner throughout the day with two stage wins and two second places, until the final and longest stage of the day where he lost 13 seconds to Cory, and the overall win. 

Jimmy Pritchard on the hunt.

Kaine Cannan from Tasmania who is leading the National Series at the moment finished in a respectable 6th place with an overall race time of 15min 11secs. 

Cory, now sitting on top of the leader board for the National series, goes in to National Round Four in Toowoomba in a strong position.  

Elite women in Chittering

In the Elite Womens category, Phillippa Nonton from South Australia took a very comfortable win, 1min 57sec clear of second place by local WA mountain biking champion Claire Garcia-Webb.

The course, located in the Chittering region just one hour from Perth, was a stunning location for the event, cutting through the bright orange orchards littered with switchbacks, big jumps and fast downhills. 

Not without challenges though, the pinch climbs and river crossings really tested the riders ability to negotiate difficult terrain and there weren’t many riders getting though the ‘Snake Pit’ without a struggle! 

“We expected some close competition over the day’s racing but never expected 1 second! It is great to see national and international competitors make the journey to Western Australia to compete in the National Series as well as gain points for the Enduro World Series qualifier. A huge thanks to all sponsors, supporters and volunteers who helped make this event a great success.” WA Gravity Enduro Race Director Steve Janiec.

The next round of the WA Gravity Enduro 2016 series takes place in ‘The Pines’ at Margaret River. For information on this event visit https://www.wagravityenduro.org.